THE  STORY  OF  A  J  AX 


AL   NOYES 


ROBERT  ERNEST  COWA"^ 


UJ 

Z 


< 


THE 


STORY    OF    AJAX 


LIFE  IN  THE 
BIG  HOLE  BASIN 


BY 

ALVA  J.  NOYES 


STATE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

HELENA.  MONTANA 

1914 


COPYRIGHTED  1914 

BY 

ALVA  J.  NOYES 


•  •     9-     •  t      W,'    ^ 


(X 

F 


T-  5  N  8 


HEDICA  TION. 


•2 


TO  MY  WIFE.  HATTIE  M.  NOYES.  WHO, 
^  FROM  CHILDHOOD  TO  AGE,  THROUGH 

SUNSHINE  AND  STORM.  PROSPERITY 
^  AND  ADVERSITY,  WAS  AS  DEPENDABLE 

^  AS  THE  "ROCK  OF  AGES."  1   DEDICATE 

^  THIS    LITTLE    STORY    OF    THE    RANCH 

2  AND  MINE. 


o 


Jl.  J.  Noyes. 


25G6{i7 


FOREWORD 


Cj  his  is  a  little  story  of  the  life  of  an  ordinary  man. 
It  is  not  a  story  of  success  from  a  financial  standpoint, 
nor,  may  it  be  considered  a  success  from  an^  stand- 
point. Whatever  it  may  be  to  others  I  shall  not 
conjecture.  To  my  children  and  friends,  for  whom  it 
was  written,  it  Toill  portray  the  deep  feeling  of  affection 
of  a  sensitive  nature. 

\jihis  little  story  gives  some  of  the  history  of  the  beautiful 
Big  Hole  Basin  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  of  interest  to 
those  who  may — in  fifty  or  one  hundred  })ears — call  the 
place  their  home.  When  it  was  begun  I  did  not  k.now 
that  it  vias  to  have  been  the  first  autobiography  ever 
published  in  Montana.  For  that  reason,  if  for  no 
other,  it  will  have  a  distinct  historic  value. 

^^nyone  who  places  himself  before  the  public  is  laying 
himself  open  to  criticism.  I  shall  not  mal^e  any  special 
plea  to  the  reader  to  be  kind  as   that  would  be  folly. 

JJJAX. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


14 


Ajax  Mine,   Frontispiece 

W.  A.  C.  Ryan,  4 

A.  J.  Fisk  at  14  years  of  age 5 

G.  R.  Noyes, 

Amy  L.  Noyes, 

Stage  Coach,  32 

First  House  in  Wisdom,  62 

Wisdom,   80 

Hattie  M.  Noyes,  Founder  of  Wisdom,  81 

Whiteface, 145 

Sunny  Slope,  1  47 

H.  S.  Armitage's  Plow  Outfit,  150 

A.  J.  Noyes,   (Ajax) 153 


ERRATA 

Page  13.  Une  14 Bear  Gulch 

"      14.     ■'     25 me  for  I 

'•      16.  '•      15 me  for  1 

••     21.  ;;     42 Nesler 

29,  "     36 came  for  come 

"     33.  "     23 Ramsdell  and  me 

■'     57,  ;■     40 Hem 

71,  "     42 Lon  for  Loo 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX." 


Being  one  of  those  who  came  to  Montana  in  the  '60s,  I  am  expected, 
as  a  member  of  the  "Pioneer  Society,"  to  write  something.  Just  what 
there  is  in  my  life  that  can  or  will  be  of  interest  to  any  one,  unless  it  is 
to  my  children  and  theirs,  I  am  not  wise  enough,  at  this  time,  to  say.  Yet, 
after  all,  one  can  hardly  live  in  a  new  country  like  Montana  for  nearly 
fifty  years  without  being,  in  some  way,  a  maker  of  history.  I  was  born 
in  St.  Anthony,  Minnesota,  December  2nd,  1855.  Probably  some  time 
in  the  year  I  859  my  father  moved  to  a  small  farm  nine  miles  from  the  city 
of  Minneapolis.  Here,  Annie,  my  baby  sister,  died  with  scarlet  fever 
when  two  and  one-half  years  of  age.  Here,  too,  my  other  sister  Maud, 
now  the  wife  of  Will  A.  Armitage,  of  Briston,  Montana,  was  born. 

Father  took  the  "gold  fever,"  and  was  one  of  the  men  who  crossed 
the  plains  with  Capt.  James  L.  Fisk,  in  1 862.  A  German,  who  had 
worked  for  us  on  the  farm,  went  with  him.  This  man,  whose  name  was 
John  Kritz,  was  killed  while  working  in  a  drift  in  some  gulch  near  Helena. 
Father  did  not  stay  in  Montana,  or  what  is  now  called  Montana,  but 
went  to  Boise  Basin.  He  stayed  in  the  West  for  several  years  without 
being  able  to  accumulate  much  money,  coming  back  to  see  us  in  1  864. 
He  did  not  stay  long  on  his  visit,  soon  returning  to  Montana  via  Kansas 
City,  Denver  and  Salt  Lake.  Arriving  in  Montana,  he  went  to  Black- 
foot  City,  where  he  built  a  cabin  for  a  party  who  could  not  pay  him.  Not 
caring  to  tarry  longer  in  a  place  like  that,  though  having  no  money  with 
which  to  buy  provisions,  he  started,  with  a  hook  and  line  as  a  means  of 
livelihood,  for  the  mines  at  Bannack  City.  The  fishing  was  good  in  those 
days,  in  the  Deer  Lodge  and  Big  Hole,  so  he  did  not  suffer  much  from 
hunger.  Arriving  at  Argenta  one  afternoon  quite  early,  he  asked  for  some- 
thing to  eat.  The  party  to  whom  he  addressed  himself  was  very  grouchy 
and  answered  him  as  follows:  "There's  the  grub  and  stove  and  if  you 
can  cook,  you  can  eat."  Father  was  a  splendid  cook,  and  though  he  had 
been  living  on  a  fish  diet  for  several  days,  he  made  up  his  mind  he  would 
get  up  a  "square  meal,"  as  a  good  meal  was  called  in  those  days — plenty 
for  both  of  them — before  he  would  eat  anything  himself.  When  every- 
thing was  on  the  table,  he  told  the  proprietor  to  sit  up  and  have  a  bite. 
The  look  on  the  man's  face  was  changed  materially  as  he  gazed  on  the 


i 


2  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

first  good  meal  he  had  had  for  a  long  rime.  "Say!  young  fellow,  you  can 
stay  here  as  long  as  you  wish!"  he  remarked.  It  appears  that  he  had  the 
charge  of  a  smelter,  as  care-taker,  and  that  very  soon  after  he  resigned 
in  favor  of  father,  who  for  some  rime  after  was  in  this  way  occupied. 
About  this  rime.  Col.  McLean  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  Congress. 
Father  sent  several  hundred  dollars  by  the  Colonel  to  mother,  which  she 
received  some  time  after,  as  it  was  forwarded  from  Washington.  In  the 
Spring  of  '66  father  went  to  Bannack,  fifteen  miles  from  Argenta,  and 
entered  a  co-partnership  in  the  blacksmith  business  with  Major  Watson. 

My  earliest  recollecrion  was  when  I  was  less  than  three  years  of 
age — very  dim,  I  must  admit.  My  uncle,  John  Stanchfield,  had  taken 
the  California  "gold  fever,"  and  went  to  that  far-off  place.  I  can  yet 
see,  in  my  mmd's  eye,  a  stage  coach  drive  to  the  door,  into  which  uncle 
entered.  He  went  around  "The  Horn."  Tho  he  stayed  in  California 
some  time,  he  did  not  succeed  in  making  anything,  but  went  to  Florence, 
Idaho,  where  he  did  make  over  $30,000.00  in  the  mines.  He  made  a 
visit  to  his  old  home  in  Minnesota,  then  returned  to  the  mountains  and 
died  at  La  Grande,  Oregon  in  1865.  This  man  was  tall,  dark  hair, 
black  eyes  and  perfectly  fearless.  On  his  second  trip  to  the  West  he 
guided  a  small  party  of  emigrants  through  a  country  infested  with  Indians, 
and  against  the  direct  commands  of  the  Colonel  at  a  post  in  Wyoming, 
who  was  supposed  to  stop  all  emigrants  until  the  party  was  strong  enough 
to  go  in  safety.  Will,  his  brother,  was  with  him  on  this  trip.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  slight  mention  of  my  uncle,  I  want  to  say  that  before  he 
went  to  California  the  first  time  my  grandmother  tried  to  get  him  to  stay, 
and  with  her  take  up  a  homestead  in  what  is  now  the  center  of  the  city  of 
Minneapolis.      "Distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view." 

I  can  also  recall  a  day  and  night  on  the  above  mentioned  farm  dur- 
ing the  Sioux  War.  Mother  desiring  to  see  about  something  on  the 
place,  got  my  uncle.  Will,  to  go  with  her  from  St.  Anthony,  where  we 
were  living.  Just  how  they  came  to  take  me  I  do  not  now  recall. 
On  our  way  out  we  met  many  men,  women  and  children,  who  were 
fleeing  to  the  city  from  the  "back-woods."  Many  of  them  had  their  all 
in  small  bundles  on  their  backs.  All  that  night  people  appeared  to  be 
roaming  the  woods,  making  more  or  less  noise;  for  what  reason  I  never  could 
conjecture.  This  Indian  War  in  Minnesota  was  a  mighty  bloody  affair. 
There  came  a  day,  however,  when  Little  Crow,  the  head  chief,  was  cap- 
tured and  taken  as  a  prisoner  to  Ft.  Snelling.  That  was  a  "gala  day"  in  St. 
Anthony,  as  the  proud  Indian  Chieftain  was  to  be  conveyed  through  the 
city  on  his  way  to  the  fort.  Thousands  gathered  to  watch  the  procession. 
At  last  came  the  wagon  in  which  the  chief  was  sitring,  two  soldiers  stood 
behind  him,  and  once  in  a  while  ,they  would  violently  remove  his  blanket, 
that  covered  a  shaven  poll.  Hate  of  the  fiercest  kind  was  depicted  on  his 
face  at  this  outrage.  My  feelings  toward  that  man  are  not  now  as  they 
were  then.  He  had  much  to  contend  with  and  had  only  attempted  to  pay 
in  kind  what  his  people  had  suffered  through  the  advent  of  the  Whites. 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  3 

In  the  Spring  of  I  866  Capt.  Fisk  was  to  take  his  last  train  across 
the  plains.  We  were  to  go  with  him  and  join  father  at  Bannack.  It  took 
some  time  to  make  preparations  for  this  long  trip.  Various  things  must 
be  gotten  together.  Oxen  and  cows  were  used  to  pull  the  wagon — the  cows 
only  on  a  hard  day.  A  tent  was  bought,  which  did  not  appear  to  be  of  the 
best  quality,  or  else  it  was  an  old  one,  because  at  the  Wild  Rice  river  the 
rain  came  through  as  though  there  was  nothing  to  stop  it,  and  some  kind- 
hearted  bachelor  traded  with  us  for  the  time  being.  Our  party  consisted 
of  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Lee,  my  mother's  sister,  mother,  sister  Maud,  aged 
five;  Joe  Dodge,  Geo.  Fibbitts  and  myself,  10  years  of  age.  As  it 
would  be  some  time  before  enough  people  could  be  gotten  together  for  a 
train,  we  were  to  meet  at  Ft.  Abercrombie,  on  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
We  were  in  no  particular  hurry  in  going  from  St.  Anthony  to  the  place 
of  rendezvous.  There  came  a  day,  when,  in  the  opinion  of  Capt.  Fisk,  we 
were  strong  enough  in  numbers  to  make  the  start  without  fear  of  trouble 
from  Indians.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  50  women  and  children,  120 
wagons,  composed  Fisk's  last  train  for  Montana.  One  hundred  of  these  men 
were  known  as  the  "$1  00.00  men,"  as  they  had  given  the  Captain  $1  00.00 
each  to  conduct  them  to  Montana.  We  pulled  only  five  miles  the  first 
day,  and  camped  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wild  Rice.  A  violent  storm 
of  wind  and  rain  cam.e  up  just  before  supper  and  it  was  at  that  time  we 
were  convinced  of  the  poorness  of  our  tent  as  a  means  of  protection  against 
rain.  I  can  remember  a  few  things  that  happened  during  our  journey.  The 
first  buffalo  was  killed  by  a  man  named  Jack  Hicks.  I  guess  that  the 
division  was  such  that  every  one  had  fresh  meat  for  supper.  On  the  5  th 
day  of  July  we  were  compielled  to  stop  the  train  and  keep  the  numerous 
herd  of  buffaloes  from  stampeding  us.  For  more  than  two  hours  we  had 
to  stay  and  shoot  at  the  herd,  in  order  to  deflect  it.  Ninety-eight  were 
killed.  It  was  probably  a  useless  slaughter,  but  at  the  time  it  did  not 
appear  so. 

Our  train  generally  traveled  three  wagons  abreast.  Our  division  was  on 
the  south ;  the  buffalo  were  coming  from  the  north.  I  crossed  to  the  up- 
per division  and  got  on  a  wagon  to  watch  the  grand  sight.  Old  plains- 
men, who  were  with  us,  said  they  had  never  seen  a  more  wonderful  herd 
than  this.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  was  dark  with  hairy  hides,  and 
that  on  a  dead  level  plain.  It  was  very  exciting  for  all  concerned,  as 
we  could  not  tell  when  our  cattle  might  become  frightened  and  run  away. 
One  old  buffalo  cow,  when  shot,  dropped  with  her  head  almost  against 
the  wheel  of  the  wagon  on  which  I  was  standing. 

We  did  not  always  have  good  water,  as  much  of  it  was  alkaline. 
Before  the  stock  was  turned  loose  we  generally  laid  in  a  supply  for  the 
night.  Buffalo  chips  were  very  often  used  for  fuel.  Speaking  of  water, 
calls  to  my  mind  that  in  digging  for  water  we  found  ice  at  a  depth  of  two 
or  three  feet  under  some  black  muck  and  excellent  water  also.  One  day 
we  came  to  some  mounds  out  on  the  plains.  These  mounds  were  prob- 
ably fifty  feet    high.       Near    these    were    two    deep,    clear    springs    of 


4  THE  STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

cold  water,  more  like  wells,  as  they  must  have  been  ten  feet  deep  and  that 
much  in  diameter.  I  have  wondered  since  what  connection  there  could  have 
been  between  these  objects.  Could  the  Indians  or  some  prehistoric  people 
have  uplifted  the  mounds  as  land  marks? 

We  did  not  get  into  the  "Indian  country,"  until  about  the  time  we  ar- 
rived at  the  Missouri  river.  Here  we  saw  many  of  our  red  brothers.  One 
night,  soon  after,  we  were  startled  by  the  cry  of  "Indians!  Indians!" 
The  people  got  up  in  a  hurry  and  made  preparations  to  resist  an  at- 
tack. Mother  called  me  and  I  got  up,  dressed  and  proceeded  to  in- 
vestigate. The  wagon  next  ahead  of  ours  was  owned  by  three  men;  their 
names  I  do  not  now  recall.  In  passing  it,  on  my  way  around  the  corral,  I 
heard  one  of  them  in  the  wagon  looking  for  ammunition  and  uistmctly 
remember  his  language:  "Just  my  damned  luck;  never  could  find  any- 
thing when  I  needed  it."  I  proceeded  around  the  corral  and  made  up  my 
mind  there  were  no  Indians  near  us.  Telling  mother  so,  I  at  once  went  back 
to  bed  and  slumber.  It  seems  that  it  was  only  a  false  alarm,  just  to  find 
out  in  what  shape  the  men  would  be  in  a  real  attack.  It  may  have  been  a 
useful  lesson  to  some,  probably  was. 

It  was  about  this  time  a  Swede,  who  had  lagged  behind,  came  to  the 
conclusion  to  camp  at  least  two  miles  away  from  the  main  encampment. 
A  young  man,  W.  A.  C.  Ryan,  generally  called  "Whack"  Ryan,  got 
several  others  to  go  with  him  for  the  express  purpose  of  giving  the  Swede 
a  scare.  They  had  purchased  several  articles  of  the  Indians,  and  dressing 
themselves  in  Indian  costume  went  to  the  Swede's  camp  and  made  an  at- 
tack on  it.  The  result  of  this  carelessness  and  thoughtlessness  almost  cost  the 
life  of  the  Swedish  lady,  who  was  in  a  delicate  condition.  She  went 
from  one  swoon  into  another,  until  it  was  generally  supposed  she  would 
die.  The  men  got  Ryan  and  raising  a  wagon  tongue  on  end  for  a  scaf- 
fold, told  him  his  time  had  come  if  the  woman  died.  Luckily  for  him 
she  recovered.  It  was  also  a  good  lesson  for  her  husband,  who  was 
never  known  to  lag  behind  again.  Ryan  did  not  remain  long  in  Montana. 
He  returned  East  and  was  one  of  the  men  who  was  shot  for  filibustering 
at  Santiago  de  Cuba.  I  want  to  say  that  "Whack"  Ryan  was  no  coward 
— he  never  knew  the  meaning,  so  far  as  he  was  personally  concerned,  of 
"white  feather."  He  might  have  died  in  a  more  glorious  cause,  but 
when  he  faced  his  executioners,  he  fell  as  a  brave,  though  reckless  man, 
should.  One  little  personal  experience  with  Ryan  made  me  dislike  him,  prob- 
ably because  I  could  not  see  the  joke.  The  younger  brothers  of  the 
Fisk  family  conducted  a  sutler's  store,  where  one  could  purchase  quite  a 
variety  of  things.  What  attracted  me  toward  their  tent  was  candy.  One 
evening  soon  after  we  had  gotten  into  the  section  of  country  infested  with 
prickly  pear,  I,  barefoot  as  usual,  went  to  Fisk's  tent  for  candy.  Jack 
Fisk  and  "Whack"  were  standing  in  front  of  the  tent,  and  as 
a  joke,  one  on  either  side,  got  me  by  an  arm  and  would  hold  me  over 
a  bunch  of  pears,  lowering  me  so  that  I  had  to  make  quite  a  struggle  to 
keep  my  little  feet  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  thorns.       I  called  them 


W.  A.  C.  RYAN 


A.  J.  FISK 
AT  14  YEARS  OF  AGE 


,i 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  5 

everything  a  boy  would  who  was  some  scared  and  a  whole  lot  mad.  I 
threatened  them  with  dire  vengeance — when  size  and  age  should  be  mine. 

Poor  "Whack,"  as  above  mentioned,  was  killed  years  before  I 
grew  up  and  I  never  took  it  out  of  Jack's  hide  because  I  did  not  meet  him 
until  forty  years  after — at  the  "Old  Timers'  Meeting"  in  Anaconda. 

I  saw  his  name  on  the  register  at  The  Montana,  and  asked  some  one 
to  point  him  out  to  me.  The  party  did  so,  and  behold,  here  was  a 
man  who  must  have  weighed  200  pounds  and  in  excellent  health,  while 
I  did  not  "tip  the  beam"  at  more  than  135.  I  introduced  myself  and 
told  him  what  I  had  intended  to  do  that  summer  of  '66  if  I  ever  should 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  run  across  him.  But,  under  the  circumstances,  as  it 
had  been  many  moons  ago  and  that,  in  fact,  I  had  slept  on  it  quite  a 
while  and  not  feeling  like  marring  the  pleasures  of  such  an  occasion — espec- 
ially after  having  noticed  the  size  to  which  he  had  grown — I  would  for- 
give him  and  be  friends  if  he  would  adjourn  to  the  bar  and  take  some- 
thing with  me.  Jack  explained  that  he  did  not  think  it  the  correct  thing 
to  harbor  ill  feelings  for  something  which  had  happened,  as  a  joke,  so 
long  ago  that  he  had  forgotten  it,  and  if  I  felt  sore  and  that  a  drink 
would  help  to  heal  the  wound,  he  would  take  anything,  or  the  whole  bar. 
We  took  something — probably  water — and  renewed  a  broken  friendship, 
not  again  to  be  broken,  as  Jack  has  gone  "over  the  divide." 

i  think  that  we  must  have  had,  on  the  whole,  quite  an  enjoyable  trip. 
Game  was  plenty  and  Indians  were  not  troublesome.  We  forded  several 
small  streams.  Once  the  Little  Muddy  caused  us  quite  a  lot  of  bother.  One 
outfit  unloaded  their  goods  and  made  a  bridge  of  the  wagons,  over  which 
they  carried  their  stuff  safely  to  the  other  bank.  We,  after  a  while, 
forded.  Dan  Cameron,  a  man  with  whom  we  were  acquainted  in  Minne- 
apolis, had  a  pony  and  insisted  that  he  should  carry  Maud  over  on  it. 
When  about  midway  of  the  stream  the  pony  stumbled,  owing  to  the  mud, 
and  all  went  out  of  sight.  Only  for  an  instant,  however,  as  the  horse 
righted  himself  and  all  were  landed  safely  on  the  bank  with  no  harm  other 
than  a  little  muddy  water.  I  believe  we  forded  the  Milk  river  seven 
times.  I  can  remember  that  our  longest  day's  journey  was  28  miles.  That 
night  we  camped  at  the  Bear  Paw  mountains.  The  day  we  arrived  at 
Fort  Benton  two  tons  of  gold  were  loaded  on  the  boat  by  two  Germans, 
who  had  taken  it  out  of  Confederate  Gulch.  One  of  whom  was  made 
crazy  over  his  sudden  wealth. 

Arriving  at  Sun  River,  some  of  our  party  found  a  man  who  had 
been  murdered  and  thrown  into  the  stream.  He  was  light  complexioned, 
answering  to  a  description  of  my  uncle.  Will  Stanchfield,  who  was  ex- 
pected to  return  from  Idaho  to  Minnesota.  Mother  and  Aunt  Jane 
thought  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  remove  him  from  his  newly  made 
grave  to  see  if  they  could  identify  him.  George  Babbage  and  William 
O'Brien,  for  a  long  time  the  noted  foreman  of  the  Homestakc  Mine  of 
Deadwood,  old  friends  of  uncle's,  came  up  while  the  discussion  was  going 
on.        They    had    seen    the    body,    so    told    the    folks    it    was    not    Will. 


6  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Here  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river  had  occurred  a  tragedy  of 
the  "wild  west."  Cards  were  scattered  all  over  the  ground,  the  only 
indication  of  the  cause  of  death.  The  body  was  naked,  lying  in  a  deep, 
clear  pool  of  water.  The  clothing  had,  no  doubt,  been  removed  and 
destroyed  for  reasons  best  known  to  the  murderers.  Here,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Sun  River  is  a  nameless  grave.  For  years  loving  hearts  have  been 
waiting  for  some  word  from  a  dear  one  who  can  never  return;  whose 
body  was  interred  by  strangers  who  discovered  it  through  accident.  How 
many  mothers,  wives  and  sweethearts  were  in  this  manner  deprived  of  their 
loved  ones  no  one  will  ever  know. 

We  continued  our  journey  the  next  morning,  and  arrived  at  Helena, 
I  believe,  on  the  9th  of  September.  This  place  was  at  that  time  quite 
a  mining  camp.  The  one  thing  in  particular  that  attracted  my  attention 
was  the  "Old  Dead  Tree,"  on  which  they  assisted  the  "undesirable  citi- 
zen" to  "pass  over  the  range."  We  did  not  have  much  business  to  de- 
tain us  at  that  place,  so  we  made  our  way  over  a  spur  of  the  mountains 
to  Boulder  valley,  thence  to  the  Jefferson,  up  which  valley  we  travelled 
for  a  few  days;  thence  across  the  Beaverhead  to  the  Rattlesnake  Creek, 
our  last  camping  place  before  reaching  the  end  of  our  trip. 

Only  11  miles  to  Bannack!  Had  there  been  a  telephone  in  those 
days,  I  suppose  father  would  have  been  at  the  Rattlesnake  to  meet  us,  but 
as  there  was  no  way  of  communicating,  we  had  to  make  the  full  journey 
before  we  would  be  able  to  see  him.  In  those  days  we  went  over  the 
Rocky  hill,  past  Road  Agents'  Rock,  down  a  very  steep  hill,  just  below  the 
scaffold  on  which  Ray,  Plummer  and  Stinson  were  hanged,  into  Hang- 
man's Gulch  and  the  city  of  Bannack.  Father  had  rented  a  house,  so  we 
could,  for  the  first  time  in  four  months,  take  such  shelter.  On  arriving  in 
the  Gulch  several  little  boys  came  up  and  introduced  themselves  by  say- 
ing: "I  guess  you  are  George  Noyes'  boy?"  To  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not 
know,  as  I  had  never  heard  him  spoken  of  as  other  than  Raymond  or 
Rayme — did  not  know  that  his  first  name  was  George.  I  do  not  recall 
all  of  the  boys.  Billy  Mcintosh,  Billy  (Dustan)  Johnson,  Rufe  Ferster, 
and  two  brothers  named  Fuller,  cousins  of  Rufe,  I  think.  The  Fuller 
people  left  Bannack  that  fall.  Rufe  Ferster,  Billy  Mcintosh,  Billy 
Johnson  and  I  became  fast  friends.  Billy  Johnson  left  Bannack  in  '68. 
I  have  never  heard  of  him  since. 

Quite  a  number  of  things  happened  that  winter  of  '66  and  7.  I 
met  quite  a  number  of  men  with  whom  I  have  had  an  extensive  ac- 
quaintance since.  Smith  and  Graeter  were  in  the  mercantile  business. 
Phil  Lovell,  a  butcher  shop;  Bill  Goodrich,  hotel;  "Old  Man"  Falls,  a 
bakery;  a  restaurant  by  Thos.  H.  Hamilton;  boarding  house  and  hotel 
by  mother  and  Aunt  Jane.  We  also  had  a  feed  stable  or  corral.  I  must 
not  forget  Rockefellow  &  Co.,  who  were  keeping  a  store.  My  first  pur- 
chase was  five  cents  worth  of  apples  of  them.  It  took  some  time  to  find  my 
fruit,  not  that  they  didn't  have  plenty,  but  they  were  looking  for  quality. 
A  half  rotten  apple  was  my  portion.     I  went  home  and  showed  my  apple. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  7 

and  father  said:  "You  are  lucky  to  get  anything  for  five  cents,  as  apples 
are  worth  50  cents  per  pound."  Looking  at  it  from  that  standpoint,  I 
was  probably  treated  liberally.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  25  and  50  cent 
pieces  were  considered  of  no  particular  value,  unless  many  of  them  were 
possessed  by  the  same  person,  one  would  soon  learn  of  the  no-accountness 
of  a  nickle. 

Just  across  the  street  from  our  place  was  a  house  called  the  "Long 
Cabin" — since  used  as  a  store  building  by  F.  L.  Graves.  1  his  was  the 
home  that  winter,  or  part  of  it  at  least,  of  "Old  Bill"  Fairweather  and 
his  brother,  Tom.  My  folks  had  been  acquainted  with  Bill  for  many 
years.  If  I  had  ever  seen  him  before,  I  do  not  recall  it.  When  we 
came  to  Bannack  I  became  well  known  to  them  and  would  consider  it  a 
treat  to  go  and  eat — also  stay  and  make  "three  in  a  bed."  Tom,  who 
was  a  big  jolly  fellow,  was  very  much  of  a  joker  and  hence  made  my 
first  night  one  that  I  will  always  remember.  The  blankets  were  thrown 
down  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  on  the  floor;  no  springs  in  those  days;  the 
bedding  was  soon  unrolled  and  bed  was  made.  A  short  time  after  we 
retired  Tom  said:  "I  forgot  to  tell  you,  Allie,  that  I  have  been  known 
to  eat  little  boys  in  my  sleep;  if  you  hear  me  grit  my  teeth  in  the  night, 
wake  up,  or  it  will  be  all  off  with  you.  It  must  have  been  about  the  hour 
of  midnight  when  I  was  awakened  by  something  and  found  that  Tom 
was  gritting  his  teeth.  I  let  a  big  yell  that  immediately  awakened  the 
Fairweather  brothers  out  of  a  sound  sleep.  They  enquired  the  reason  for 
such  a  disturbance.  My  reply  was  that  "Tom  was  going  to  eat  me  and 
I  wanted  to  go  home."  It  took  considerable  talk  on  their  part  to  satisfy 
me  that  Tom  was  a  joker. 

"Old  Bill"  Fairweather!  To  him  should  actually  be  given  the  credit 
of  the  discovery  of  Alder  Gulch.  Tho  Bill  was  called  old,  he  was  only 
39  years  of  age  when  he  "passed  over  the  range."  Can  anyone  say 
what  the  unlocking  of  such  a  "treasure  house"  meant  to  the  world? 
When  that  gold  was  deposited  from  whence  it  came,  no  man  knows. 
Since  the  world  began  it  may  have  lain  hidden  from  the  sight  of  man, 
to  be  called  into  use  by  an  All  Wise  Creator  at  a  time  when  it  would 
do  the  most  good.  That  little  band  of  hungry  prospectors  which  had,  so 
short  a  time  before,  been  captured  by  the  Indians  on  the  Yellowstone,  no 
doubt  owed  their  lives  to  Bill  Fairweather,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  not 
afraid  of  a  rattlesnake,  had  even  picked  one  up  in  their  presence  and 
fondled  it  as  a  mother  would  a  child.  Seeing  this  the  interpreter  told 
them  that  Bill  was  a  big  medicine  man,  one  whom  it  would  be  very  unwise 
to  injure.  They  were,  no  doubt,  convinced  that  what  he  said  was  true, 
as  it  is  known  that  they  were  liberated  after  the  Indians  had  taken  all 
their  horses,  except  Bill's,  and  most  of  their  provisions;  giving  them  in 
return  some  worn-out  ponies. 

Can  you  picture  to  yourself  the  scene?  These  six  men  were  gold 
hunters  who  would  attempt  any  journey  for  Gold.  Fhcy  had  been 
released  a  few  days  before  by  the  Indians.        They  had  followed  up  the 


8  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Madison  river  to  Wigwam  Creek,  up  which  stream  they  started,  to  find 
that  the  mountains  at  its  head  were  almost  impassable.  They  turned 
to  the  right  and  crossed  a  low  divide  to  find  themselves  on  this  stream, 
Alder.  In  going  to  the  Yellowstone,  they  had  passed  quite  near  this 
place.  Here  was  a  small,  clear  mountain  stream  which  had  its  source  in 
the  snow-covered  peak  called  "Old  Baldy."  The  grassy  hillsides  fur- 
nished grazing  for  the  wild  things,  especially  antelope.  The  prospectors 
had  gone  into  camp  for  the  night  in  good  season,  no  doubt,  for  the  reason 
that  the  ponies  were  in  no  condition  to  go  farther.  All  except  Barney 
Hughes  were  hunting,  as  they  had  but  little  provisions.  In  a  conver- 
sation with  Barney  years  after,  he  told  me  the  following:  I  was  left  at 
camp  to  get  supper.  We  had  a  little  flour  in  the  bottom  of  the  sack, 
from  which  I  had  made  some  bread,  which  was  almost  ready  for  the 
frying  pan,  when  Bill  Fairweather  and  Henry  Edgar  came  to  camp.  'Say, 
Barney,'  said  Bill,  'how  long  before  I  can  have  that  pan?  I  believe 
I  have  found  a  place  that  will  "pan'."  'You  can  have  it  right  now,' 
I  said;  so  I  put  the  dough  back  into  the  sack  and  Bill  and  Henry  struck 
out.  Bill  filled  the  pan  and  Henry  eagerly  grabbed  it  and  did  the  pan- 
ning which  showed  the  first  gold  of  "Old  Alder."  This  was  the  manner 
in  which  the  discovery  was  made,  as  told  to  me  one  night  at  the  Ajax 
ranch,  long  years  after. 

In  passing,  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  about  Barney  Hughes.  He 
was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  coming  in  the  early  fifties  to  the  United  States. 
He  had  prospected  all  over  California,  Idaho  and  Montana.  Had  found 
rich  diggings  in  several  places,  but  was  never  able  to  get  any  real  good  from 
his  discoveries.  The  money  that  he  got  in  Alder  Gulch — forty  thousand 
dollars — he  invested  in  San  Francisco  in  property  that  had  an  insecure  title, 
hence  he  lost  what  he  invested.  His  idea  was  an  excellent  one  had  the 
title  been  good,  and  he  did  not  doubt  but  what  it  was;  he  would  have 
been  a  very  rich  man.  He  was  gettmg  his  pack  horse  ready,  one  day  at 
the  Ajax  ranch,  for  a  trip  to  the  mountains.  I  remarked  that  he  under- 
stood the  diamond  hitch  pretty  well.  "I  ought  to,  my  boy,  I  have  thrown 
it  for  56  years,  and  I  wish  I  had  never  seen  it." 

As  long  as  Montana  is  Montana,  these  men  will  be  remembered. 
They  were  brave  and  fearless.  They  wandered  over  the  mountains  and 
plains  with  an  idea  that  gold  could  be  found  almost  any  place.  While 
they  did  not  secure  much  from  the  wealth  they  were  the  means  of  un- 
covering, many  others  did,  and  the  world  at  large  will  be  using  the  gold 
of  Alder  Gulch  for  centuries  to  come.  Barney  Hughes  lies  in  the  little 
cemetery  near  Wisdom,  in  the  valley  of  the  Big  Hole,  near  the  mountains 
he  worked  in  and  loved.  The  find  was  of  such  a  character  that  they 
were  wild  with  excitement.  They  went  to  Bannack  for  provisions  and 
were  followed — as  most  prospectors  were  in  those  days — by  many  of  the 
men  from  Bannack.  The  history  of  Alder  is  the  history  of  a  state.  These 
things  may   appear  to  be  digressions,   but  they  are  part  of   the   things   I 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  9 

learned  of  these  men,  who  did  so  much  by  uncovering  the  wealth  of  the 
richest  gulch  in  the  world. 

There  was  nothing  of  an  exciting  nature  occurring  in  Bannack  that 
winter.  There  was,  I  believe,  a  stampede  to  Loon  Creek  or  some  place 
in  Idaho,  and  severel  men  were  frozen.  Billy  Yearian  taught  a  private 
school,  and  most  of  us  attended.  I  enjoyed  myself,  as  we  had  many 
horses  to  feed  at  our  corral,  some  of  them  I  could  ride  to  water.  Then 
father  bought  a  small  grey  pony  for  me,  which  was  a  wonder  in  a  way, 
as  she  could  run  200  or  300  yards  very  fast.  Many  a  person,  in  the  three 
years  Kitty  was  in  my  possession,  would  fetch  their  horses  to  try  them  with 
her,  to  find  out  whether  they  could  run  or  not.  Many  horses  that  could 
not  outrun  her  made  much  money  in  various  places  in  the  territory  after- 
wards. 

All  who  have  read  the  "Vigilante  Days  and  Ways"  will  recall  a 
horse  that  the  road  agents  wanted  on  Horse  Prairie.  Joseph  Shineberger 
and  Martin  Barrett  had  a  ranch  at  the  crossing  of  the  above  named  stream, 
about  eleven  miles  from  Bannack.  They  had  a  saddle  horse  known 
for  his  gameness,  beauty,  etc.,  no  other  in  the  country  was  his  equal.  I 
can  remember  him  well.  A  magnificent  grey;  he  was  often  at  our  place, 
ridden  either  by  Shineberger  or  Barrett.  This  is  the  one  that  figures  in  the 
early  Montana  story.  Wm.  Roe  purchased  him  in  Salt  Lake  and  brought 
him  to  the  Territory.  My  people  called  Joe  Shineberger  "Butterball,"  as 
he  used  to  furnish  us  with  a  nice  grade  of  butter  at  $L25  per  pound.  I 
recall  a  trip  made  with  Joe  Dodge  to  the  S.  &  B.  ranch  very  late  in  the 
fall  of  '66  for  hay.  We  had  two  two-ox  teams.  We  did  not  go  very  well 
prepared  for  a  camp  on  a  cold  night;  had  taken  only  one  blanket  with  us, 
as  Dodge  supposed  we  would  be  invited  into  the  house  for  the  night.  We 
had  a  lunch  with  us.  Arriving  at  the  ranch,  we  were  shown  the  hay  stack 
from  which  we  were  to  load.  We  went  over  and  proceeded  to  load  that 
evening,  in  order  to  get  an  early  start  for  home  the  next  morning.  When 
the  loads  were  on,  we  looked  for  an  invitation  over  to  the  house.  We 
did  not  get  it,  however,  so  we  got  out  our  blanket  and  lots  of  hay,  into 
w'hich  we  burrowed.  We  managed  to  pass  the  night.  Joe  "cuddled  me 
up  close"  or  I  would  actually  have  suffered  with  the  cold.  We  were 
to  blame  in  this  matter,  not  having  been  in  the  mountains  long  enough 
to  understand  the  conditions.  Every  one  was  expected  to  take  his  bed 
in  those  days.  I  have  known  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrett  for  many  years.  I  re- 
call many  cordial  welcomes  that  have  been  extended  me  at  their  beautiful 
home  since  that  November  night  in  '66.  (Mr.  Barrett  was  not  then 
married.) 

In  the  spring  of  '67  my  father  and  Joe  Dodge  took  a  contract  to 
get  out  logs  for  Mr.  Sturgis,  a  man  who  owned  a  small  saw  mill  at 
the  Saw  Mill  Point,  seven  miles  northwest  of  Bannack.  We  moved  to 
the  "Point"  for  the  summer.  That  was  the  year  Smith  and  Gracter 
were  digging  the  big  ditch  from  Painter  Creek  to  Bannack,  and  father 
was  hired  by  them  to  do  the  blacksmithing.     He  also  took  a  contract  for 


10  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX' 

several  rods  of  ditch  along  a  side  hill.  To  pass  away  the  time  I  spent 
two  weeks  with  him,  while  he  was  at  work  on  this  contract,  going  from 
Bannack  to  the  ditch  with  Pat  Dempsey,  then  a  driver  for  Smith  & 
Graeter,  but  who,  not  many  years  after,  became  quite  a  factor  as  a  busi- 
ness man  in  Beaverhead  county.  I  can  recall  a  few  little  things  that  hap- 
pened that  spring  on  the  Grasshopper.  One  thing,  these  little  pests  wer« 
thick  and  ate  almost  everything  in  sight.  Another  was  Johnny  Stone,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  one  of  the  best  horseback  riders  ever  in  the  West,  had 
a  herd  of  horses  that  he  often  corralled  at  our  place  in  order  to  catch 
some  of  them  to  break  to  the  saddle.  I  saw  him  when  he  made  his  great 
ride  from  Argenta  to  Bannack  and  back — 32  miles —  in  less  than  two 
hours.  I  also  remember  two  trades  that  took  place  that  summer.  James 
Gordon,  one  of  the  Gordon  Bros.,  who  had  a  store  in  Bannack;  he  was 
also  sheriff  of  Beaverhead  county.  Dodge  and  I  were  riding  the  range 
one  day  when  we  met  Gordon  and  some  one  else.  Dodge  was  riding  a 
very  fine  looking  mare,  but  which,  owing  to  a  misfortune,  would  not 
breed,  and  Dodge  knew  it.  Gordon  had  a  very  nice  gelding,  not  large,  but 
good.  Looking  at  the  mare,  he  bantered  Dodge  for  a  trade,  saying:  "I 
want  to  get  something  to  breed,  Joe,  and  you  can  certainly  get  as  much 
satisfaction  riding  this  horse,  which  is  a  much  better  saddle  animal  than 
yours."  They  did  not  stop  to  parley  very  long,  exchanging  saddles,  they 
were  soon  going  to  their  respective  destinations,  one  to  Bannack  the  other 
to  the  Point.  Jim  was  not  long  in  finding  that  "low  Yankee"  had  beaten 
him  in  the  trade.  On  his  arrival  at  the  store  he  explained  matters  to  his 
brother  and  remarked  that  he  would  get  even  on  "that  Yankee  yet." 
When  winter  came  Dodge  had  an  ox  which  he  desired  to  sell  and 
which  he  did  sell  to  Gordon.  Gordon  also  bought  two  tons  of  hay  with 
which  to  feed  the  ox  through  the  winter.  For  some  reason  the  ox  did 
not  appear  to  thrive,  so  Gordon  called  Dodge  in,  as  an  expert,  to  find 
out  what  would  be  the  best  thing  to  do.  Joe  looked  him  over  for  a 
moment  and  said  he  "guessed  bran  mash  should  be  given" — something 
that  could  not  be  procured — "because  'You  see,  Jim,  he  hain't  got  any 
teeth'."      In  this  way  Gordon  got  even  with  the  Yankee. 

Some  time  during  that  summer  father  bought  an  interest  in  a  port- 
able saw  mill.  Al  Graeter  and  Dave  Sinclair  were  the  others  interested. 
This  mill  was  on  Taylor  Creek,  almost  up  to  the  head,  near  "Old  Baldy." 
We  were  to  move  up  there,  mother  was  to  do  the  cooknig.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  my  Aunt  Jane  married  Thos.  H.  Hamilton.  It 
fell  to  my  lot  to  herd  the  cows,  and  as  this  was  to  be  done  on 
foot,  it  was  no  great  pleasure,  because,  for  some  reason,  those  cows 
wanted  to  go  back  to  the  valley,  seven  or  eight  miles  distant.  When 
the  weather  was  decent  I  would  get  Maud  to  go  with  me.  When  I  think 
of  those  days  it  almost  gives  me  an  indigo  feeling;  I  was  eleven  and  Maud 
six.  We  had  to  drive  the  cows  for  a  mile  or  more  through  thick  lodge-pole 
pines,  along  an  old  Indian  trail,  then  down  into  and  across  a  deep  gulch 
to  the  top  of  a  long  grassy  slope,  on  which  large  boulders  were  scattered. 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  11 

the  only  means  of  shelter  from  wind  or  storm,  between  the  two  branches  of 
Dice  Creek.  AH  day  long  we  herded  those  pesky  cows.  When  the 
wind  was  too  cold  we  had  a  place  between  some  rocks,  into  which  we 
would  go,  pulling  an  old  shawl  over  our  heads,  being  careful  to  look 
out  every  once  in  a  while  to  see  that  our  charge  was  safe.  At  last  the 
weather  got  to  be  exceedingly  disagreeable,  as  it  was  getting  late  in  the 
season.  Yet  one  morning  I  coaxed  Maud  to  go.  We  had  only  been 
gone  a  short  time  when  it  began  to  snow.  She  began  to  suffer  with  the  cold, 
and  as  we  did  not  have  any  overshoes,  her  little  shoes  became  wet  through. 
She  began  to  cry.  I  had  a  large  bandana  which  I  at  once  tore  up  and 
wrapped  about  her  feet,  turning  our  faces  homeward  and  for  the  first 
time  in  six  weeks  allowing  our  cows  to  go  free.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  some  man  had  to  go  for  them  that  night. 

It  could  not  have  been  long  after  this  when  they  made  up  their  minds 
to  close  the  mill  for  the  winter,  and  move  to  Bannack,  twelve  miles  away. 
I  remember  I  let  James  Carrick,  a  cousin,  ride  my  pony  and  I  walked  to 
town.  Father  built  a  two-room  shack  for  us  to  live  in  that  winter,  also 
quite  a  large  stable  to  be  used  for  feed  business.  For  some  reason  there 
was  nothing  going  on  in  Bannack,  and  it  was  hard  getting 
along.  We  milked  a  few  cows,  which  contributed  a  little.  Father  had 
gone  to  a  new  quartz  camp.  Silver  Star.  Joe  Dodge  hauled  ore  or  wood — 
doing  general  teaming.  The  Hamiltons  built  a  small  restaurant,  but  there 
was  no  business  to  justify  it.  Everything  was  high,  sugar  was  $1.00  per 
pound,  coal  oil  $10.00  per  gal.  Many  a  time  aunt  would  give  me  50 
cents  with  which  to  go  to  the  store  and  buy  sugar.  In  the  light  of  later 
events,  I  think  they  would  get  me  to  go,  as  they  were  "poor  but  proud." 

That  winter  a  man  named  Douglass  taught  a  private  school,  making 
probably  enough  to  live  on.  If  he  did  nothing  more,  he  kept  the  children 
out  of  the  street.  A  young  man,  Robert  or  Bob  McConnell,  batched  in 
a  cabin  next  door  to  the  one  used  as  a  school  house.  Bob  was  an  ex- 
ceedingly bright  young  fellow  and  took  great  interest  in  all  of  us.  He 
would  help  us  with  our  lessons,  and  as  he  was  splendid  in  mathematics, 
he  often  got  us  to  propound  questions  of  a  catch  nature  to  Douglass.  Bob 
was  one  of  the  men  who  discovered  the  mines  at  Hecla,  selling  his  share 
for  several  thousand  dollars.  Years  after  he  came  to  my  ranch  in  the 
Big  Hole  and  made  his  home  with  us,  until  he  died.  He  himself  was 
the  only  enemy  he  had. 

At  last  spring  arrived  and  we  were  again  to  hit  the  trail.  We  had 
just  as  well  have  been  born  in  the  Redman's  camp — with  long  hair  and 
nomadic  blood — so  far  as  having  any  particular  habitation  was  con- 
cerned. We  had  gathered  several  cows  and  horses,  besides  our  work  oxen, 
so  had  some  little  property.  Father  had  written  for  us  to  come  to  Silver  Star: 
our  stock  had  wintered  on  the  Rattlesnake,  1 6  miles  from  Bannack  and 
if  I  am  not  mistaken  Jimmie  Kirkpatrick  had  them  in  charge.  To  a  per- 
son not  acquainted  with  Montana  conditions,  it  would  appear  strange  that 
stock  could  be  turned  on  the  range  for  the  winter,  and  come  out  fat  in 


12  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

the  spring,  and  this  only   1  6  miles  from  Bannack,  where  there  was  good 
sleighing  in   winter, 

I  remember  that  Mr.  Philip  H.  Poindexter,  of  the  firm  of  Poindex- 
ter  &  Orr,  told  me  that  he  and  Mr.  Orr  brought  1 ,000  steers  from 
California,  turned  them  out  on  the  Blacktail  Deer  Creek,  where  they  fat- 
tened on  the  bunch  grass  during  the  winter,  and  the  next  spring  they  were 
offered  $125.00  per  head  for  them. 

We  said  "good  bye"  to  Bannack  and  those  who  for  a  part  of  two 
years  had  been  our  friends.  Uncle  "Ham"  and  Aunt  Jane  went  to  Jeff 
Davis  Gulch  on  Horse  Prairie  and  we  headed  for  Jefferson  Valley.  There 
happened  to  be  a  young  Irishman  who  wanted  to  go  to  Silver  Star,  so  he 
was  furnished  with  a  saddle  horse  with  which  to  help  me  drive  the  stock. 
I  am  sorry  that  I  do  not  remember  his  name.  We  crossed  the  bench  land, 
afterward  made  into  a  productive  farm  under  the  management  of  Justin 
E.  Morse,  to  the  Hogback;  thence  down  the  east  side  of  it  to  the  Big 
Hole  river,  where  we  expected  to  ford.  The  river  was  so  high  that  it 
was  considered  dangerous  to  attempt  to  cross  it.  The  man  with  me  and 
I  could  take  the  cattle  and  horses  down  a  trail  near  the  bank  of  the  river, 
but  the  wagon  had  to  go  pretty  near  the  Point  of  Rocks  on  the  Beaver- 
head and  take  a  road  down  that  valley  to  Laurin  Bridge  on  the  Big 
Hole.  We  passed  some  hot  springs,  since  known  as  Ziegler  and  ar- 
rived at  the  bridge  before  the  team.  We  spent  the  night  here  and  arrived 
at  Silver  Star  the  next  day.  One-half  mile  south  of  where  the  town  is 
now  was  the  store  in  those  days.  I  do  not  remember  how  many  houses 
there  were,  but  I  do  remember  that  Joseph  Barkell  had  one.  He  was 
a  married  man  and  had  two  boys,  James  and  Richard,  particular  friends 
of  mine  until  this  time.  These  boys  never  got  far  from  old  Silver  Star. 
They  have  succeeded  in  bringing  up  two  nice  families  and  have  had 
enough  of  this  world's  goods  to  make  them  independent. 

There  was  an  arastra,  which  was  run  by  the  water  from  Cherry 
Creek.  The  men  who  owned  the  Green  Campbell  mine  were  getting  ready 
to  build  a  quartz  mill.  Father  at  once  got  material  for  and  built  the 
Silver  Star  Hotel,  an  old  land  mark  of  that  place.  A  store  and  saloon 
building  was  soon  erected  for  George  Baker.  Smith  &  Graeter  of  Ban- 
nack had  sent  a  young  man  with  a  stock  of  goods.  Charles  Blivens,  after- 
wards killed  in  Dillon,  and  Wm.  Gilbert  built  and  conducted  a  saloon. 
All  this  time  they  were  getting  things  in  shape  to  build  the  mill.  For 
some  reason  my  time  seemed  to  pass  more  pleasantly  than  the  fall  of  the 
year  before.  True,  I  had  to  get  the  cows  and  oxen,  but  as  I  had  my 
pony,  it  was  not  disagreeable  work.  Then,  there  was  Jim  and  Dick. 
The  town  became  quite  a  place,  the  mines  were  good  and  the  mill  was 
turning  out  gold  in  great  shape.  Chas.  Everett,  the  manager,  and  wife 
had  the  best  room  in  the  hotel.  Many  a  time  have  I  seen  gold  pan  after 
gold  pan  filled  with  amalgam  under  their  bed. 

Father   and   Dodge  had   a  wood   contract.      Father  did   the  black- 
smithing  for  the  mill,  and  with  the  hotel  and  feed  stable,  also  conducted 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  13 

by  them,  they  appeared  to  be  making  some  money.  Mother  had  con- 
tracted a  severe  cold  at  a  dance  in  Bannack  Christmas  night,  1866. 
For  some  reason  it  became  deep-seated,  her  health  becoming  very  poor, 
later  it  turned  into  consumption.  She  had  any  amount  of  work  to  do, 
and  her  health  not  improving,  she  sent  to  Minneapolis  for  my  grandmother, 
Mary  A.  Stanchfield.  She  and  her  son  Charles  came  up  the  Missouri 
river  on  the  steamer  Leni  Leoti.  I  heard  her  tell  of  having  seen  X. 
Beidler,  who  hailed  the  boat  one  day  as  a  refugee  from  Indians  that  had 
been  chasing  him  and  came  near  enough  to  shoot  holes  in  his  hat.  Grand- 
ma also  thought  that  X  did  the  shooting  himself.  Grandmother  was  a 
remarkable  woman.  She  knew  how  to  do  things,  and  went  ahead  and 
took  full  charge  of  the  hotel.  All  were  busy  in  the  little  town  in  those 
days.  All  living  in  hopes  of  future  good  luck.  Mines  were  being  opened 
all  over  the  county.  Up  in  Bear  Bulch  Prof.  Kanabe  built  a  lead  Smelter. 
Rochester  was  booming.  Butte  was  doing  something  in  a  placer  line. 
Alder  was  producing  "dust."  Silver  Star  did  not  support  children  enough 
for  a  school  while  I  lived  there. 

The  Jefferson  valley  was  then  one  of  the  best  stock  sections  avail- 
able. Cattle  needed  no  feed,  other  than  the  wild  grass  which  they  could 
get  any  place  to  carry  them  through  winter  in  good  condition.  In  fact  we 
killed  cattle  for  beef  that  had  ranged  all  winter.  I  can  recall  the  names 
of  quite  a  number  of  people  who  called  the  little  place  home  in  those  days. 
Charles  Hineman,  quite  a  character  as  a  mining  man  then  and  years 
after;  Dave  Sinclair,  sawmill;  Mr.  Weingart,  the  contractor  who  hauled 
ore  for  the  Green-Cambpell  Co.  for  years  after,  and  now  a  successful 
stockman  and  farmer;  Fred  Hutchinson,  Perry  Westfall,  who  had  a  small 
ranch  near  town,  now  a  successful  stockman  of  the  Judith  Basin ;  Beall 
Bros.,  their  mother,  the  Widow  Hubbard,  afterward  my  stepmother; 
Macindays  Hotel,  otherwise  "French  Mac";  Joe  and  Frank  Gouther  and 
little  Alex  Dupee,  these  men  later  of  Grasshopper  and  Bannack;  Geo. 
Blackman  and  family;  Taylor  Blivens,  Alex  Carmichael,  the  Rogans, 
Geo.  Sparrell  and  family;  King  and  Slaven  had  a  ranch  near  town.  Some 
of  these  people  are  living  in  that  vicinity  yet;  many  of  them  sleep  on  the 
little  hill  behind  the  town. 

I  recall  one  little  incident  concerning  a  Chinaman,  who  helped  in 
the  hotel.  Grandmother  requested  him  to  do  something  one  day  to  which 
he  replied:  "Me  no  savey."  Grandmother  went  to  the  wood  box.  se- 
lected a  good  sized  piece  of  wood  and  said:  "John,  a  Chinaman  who 
can't  savey  is  no  good,  so  I  am  going  to  kill  you."  John  took  it  for  granted 
that  she  meant  what  she  said  and  quickly  remarked:  "Me  heap  savey." 
He  never  again  claimed  ignorance  of  the  English  tongue.  Mother's  health 
not  improving,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thos.  H.  Hamilton  of  Horse  Plains  came 
to  take  charge  of  the  hotel.  They  came  some  time  in  the  fall,  after  the 
placer  mines  closed  down  on  Jeff  Davis,  and  stayed  all  winter,  with  the 
exception  of  one  trip  back  to  the  Gulch  some  time  in  the  middle  of  win- 
ter.     I    made    this    trip   with    them.      We    stayed   one   night    at   Argenta 


14  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

with  A.  M.  Esler,  a  very  prominent  mining  man.  Here  we  needs 
must  change  from  wagon  to  sleigh  for  the  balance  of  the  journey.  As  we 
were  going  down  a  hill,  just  after  having  crossed  the  Argenta  divide, 
over  went  the  sleigh.  Aunt  Jane  was  wrapped  in  such  a  manner  she  could 
not  help  herself,  so  had  to  be  assisted  by  Uncle  Ham  out  of  a  very 
disagreeable  position;  she  had  gone  into  a  snow  drift  head  first.  That 
night  we  camped  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  Barrett.  I  remember  that 
Mrs.  Barrett  had  ginger  cake  for  supper,  something  for  which  I  had  a 
great  liking.  I  suppose  you  would  like  to  know  why  I  can  remember  what 
particular  thing  I  had  to  eat  in  the  early  winter  of  '69,  forty-five  years 
ago.  It  was  because  I  was  corrected  by  my  aunt  for  the  manner  in  which 
I  had  asked  Mrs.  Barrett  for  the  gmger  cake.  My  mother  had  been  too 
busy,  probably,  to  note  my  language  at  the  table,  as  she  seldom  ate  when 
I  did.  Next  day  we  pulled  out  for  the  gulch,  where  we  remamed  long 
enough  for  uncle  and  aunt  to  arrange  their  belongings  for  the  winter  ere 
they  return  to  Silver  Star.  Our  trip  back  was  uneventful.  We  arrived  to 
find  mother  growing  much  weaker  each  day.  Joe  Dodge  was  at  this 
time  working  at  Rochester,  to  which  place  I  was  sent  to  him  one  after- 
noon with  a  letter  from  father.  I  arrived  there  after  dark.  Joe  read  the 
letter  and  we  started  at  once  for  Silver  Star. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  March,  I  869,  mother  died.  She  was  taken  to 
a  little  knoll  just  back  of  town  and  laid  to  rest,  being  the  first  person  to 
be  buried  at  Silver  Star.  She  had  chosen  this  place  herself.  This  was 
a  sad  day  for  my  little  sister  and  I.  We  had  lost  a  kind  mother  and 
must  go  through  this  life  without  her  loving  protection.  Mother  had  ar- 
ranged with  grandmother  to  take  us  back  to  St.  Anthony  and  put  us  in 
school.  She  had  told  father  to  place  ten  head  of  good  dairy  cows  on 
shares  with  Mrs.  Hamilton,  these  cows  and  their  increase  to  become  our 
property.  This  was  done,  and  was,  in  fact,  the  foundation  of  the  Ham- 
ilton fortune. 

When  spring  opened  up  we  made  arrangements  to  go  to  Fort  Benton 
and  go  down  to  Sioux  City  on  the  first  boat.  Our  trip  from  Silver  Star 
to  Benton  was  full  of  interest  to  me,  as  I  had  been  over  the  same  ground 
three  years  before.  We  arrived  in  Helena  soon  after  the  big  fire,  but 
little  of  the  business  portion  was  intact.  After  leaving  Helena,  a  freighter 
named  Sherrill,  who  came  from  the  Bitter  Root,  overtook  us  and  travelled 
in  our  company  to  Benton.  He  had  two  boys  with  him,  Scott  and  Bunch, 
who  afterwards  took  part  in  the  Battle  of  the  Big  Hole.  We  had  an  ex- 
ceedingly enjoyable  trip  after  they  came  to  us.  (It  was  years  after  before 
we  met  again.  Scott  was  then  a  prominent  ranchman  in  Ross  Hole. 
Bunch  had  not  been  fortunate  in  this  world's  goods.)  On  our  arrival 
at  Benton,  we  found  the  steamer  Deer  Lodge.  We  took  passage  on  this 
boat  for  Sioux  City.  We  went  down  the  river  to  Camp  Cook,  where  we 
took  on  board  quite  a  number  of  soldiers.  A  Mrs.  Campbell  and 
daughter,  one  of  the  sweetest  little  children  I  ever  saw,  were  with  them. 
She  was  the  wife  of  the  doctor  at  the  post.     The  evenings  were  spent  by 


GEORGE    R.    NOYES 
MY  FATHER 


AMY    L.    NOYES 
MY  MOTHER 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  15 

the  older  ones  with  cards  and  music.  The  children  had  plenty  of  new 
sights  and  scenes  to  make  life  enjoyable  to  them.  This  was  in  early 
spring,  when  the  Missouri  is  supposed  to  have  enough  water  for  naviga- 
tion. We  were  often  on  sand  bars  or  were  compelled  to  tie  up  for  the 
night  on  account  of  changes  in  the  channel. 

We  had  nothing  of  a  startling  nature  excepting  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Musselshell.  At  this  place  there  was  a  wood  camp,  which  only  a  few 
days  before  we  arrived,  had  been  attacked  by  Indians.  It  must  have 
been  about  9  a.  m.  when  we  landed  at  the  camp  to  take  on  wood.  The 
first  thing  to  attract  our  attention  was  several  poles  nailed  to  the  stockade, 
each  one  holding  the  skull  of  an  Indian.  I  am  under  the  impression  that 
there  were  thirteen  poles,  as  that  many  Indians  had  been  killed  in  the 
fight.  The  men  in  charge  exhibited  a  short  pole  on  which  were  thirteen 
scalps,  the  crowning  feature  was  one  consisting  of  the  full  scalp,  war- 
bonnet  and  all.  This  was  indeed  a  grewsome  sight.  At  this  place  there 
was  only  one  woman.  She  had  a  bandage  about  her  head,  as  the  Indians 
scalped  her,  believing  her  dead.  We  asked  to  be  allowed  a  sight  of  the 
wound,  a  request  not  granted.  She  did  not  appear  to  care  much  for  the 
loss  of  part  of  her  hair,  as  she  remarked:  "I  would  give  my  scalp  any 
time  for  the  scalps  of  thirteen  Indians."  I  have  met  this  person  since 
many  times;  have  talked  with  her  about  the  battle,  but  she  never  men- 
tioned the  fact  that  she  ever  met  with  the  trouble  above  recorded.  This 
woman  afterward  became  Mrs.  James  Tucker,  for  years  a  resident  of  the 
Big  Hole  Basin,  who  died  in  October,  1910.  She,  in  fact,  said  she  had 
never  been  scalped,  but  the  lady  who  "laid  her  out"  found  the  mark. 
This  was  the  only  thing  of  an  exciting  nature  during  the  trip  to  Sioux 
City.  At  Sioux  City  we  left  the  boat  to  take  the  cars  for  Dubuque, 
Iowa.,  from  which  place  we  would  take  another  boat  for  St.  Paul.  I  had 
seen  cars  before,  on  their  arrival  in  St.  Anthony,  but  had  never  had  the 
pleasure  of  a  ride.  Trains  did  not  make  the  time  they  do  now,  so  we 
had   quite   a   nice   time   passing   across   the   state  of   Iowa. 

Our  boat  up  the  Mississippi  was  the  War  Eagle,  since  sunk  or 
burnt.  Arriving  at  St.  Paul,  we  hired  a  carriage  for  St.  Anthony,  ten 
miles  distant.  Here  that  Sunday  morning  in  1869  was  the  old  house  in 
which  I  first  saw  the  light  of  day.  From  here,  three  years  before,  we 
had  ventured  out  across  the  Great  Plains  to  the  shining  mountains  with 
mother.  Here  we  returned,  orphans,  to  fight  our  life's  battles  as  best 
we  could  with  grandmother's  assistance.  The  public  schools  would  not 
commence  until  fall.  I  needed  eome  help  before  that  time,  and  as  a 
young  lady  was  to  conduct  a  private  school  in  the  Old  Black  School 
House,  a  building  endeared  to  many  of  the  prominent  men  in  Minneapolis, 
it  was  decided  that  I  should  attend.  I  can  see  the  face  of  that  little 
teacher  yet,  but  can  not  recall  her  name.  She  "brushed"  me  up  so  I 
could  enter  the  fifth  grade  at  the  regular  session  that  fall  in  the  old  stone 
school  house  on  University  Avenue,  opposite  the  old  Winslow  Hotel.  My 
teacher  was  a  Miss  Heath.     Prof.  Harvey  was  the  principal,  a  man  fully 


16  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

able  to  conduct  a  school  along  right  lines.  Grandmother  rented  some 
rooms  in  the  Winslow  Hotel,  in  the  basement  floor.  This  old  building 
had  been  quite  a  prominent  place  in  antebellum  days,  as  many  Southern 
people  came  North  to  spend  the  summer.  After  the  war  broke  out  the 
place  was  used  for  different  purposes,  water-cure  establishment,  etc.,  and 
by  Rev.  Edward  Neill  as  a  school  known  as  "Jesus  College."  Years 
since  the  old  building  was  razed  and  the  Exposition  Building  was  erected 
on  the  site.  We  lived  a  short  time  in  these  rooms  and  went  to  the  old  Jack 
Tidd  house,  from  which  place  we  moved  to  Fifth  street,  securing  rooms 
with  Alex  Lawrence.  In  the  meantime  Uncle  Will  had  returned  to  the 
mountains.  He  was  in  Silver  Bow  for  a  season.  He  bought  the  old  Milot 
place,  afterward  called  "The  Hump,"  and  grandmother  made  up  her 
mind  to  go  once  more  to  Montana  and  take  charge  of  the  cattle  which 
would  soon  be  ready  to  be  turned  over  by  the  Hamiltons,  who  had  leased 
them  for  three  years.  This  left  Maud  and  I  without  a  home.  I  began 
to  board  with  a  Mrs.  Edmunds,  Maud  with  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Broughton, 
where  she  made  her  home  for  several  years,  or  until  she  again  came  to 
Montana.  I  want  to  say  that,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  we  were 
treated  we  had  some  splendid  aunts,  both  on  mother's  and  father's  side; 
a  mother  could  hardly  be  better  to  us  than  Aunt  Almira  Broughton,  my 
mother's  sister,  and  Aunt  Sarah  Jinks,  my  father's  youngest  sister. 
I  always  spent  my  vacation  at  the  Jinks  farm  at  Clear  Water, 
Minnesota.  I  also  boarded  for  a  while  with  Mrs.  Watts.  There  came  a 
time  when  Aunty  Broughton  thought  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  get  a 
room  and  board  myself.  I  soon  found  a  room-mate,  Edwin  Prebble. 
We  were  at  that  time  attending  the  University  of  Minnesota,  I  as  a  prep, 
and  owing  to  ill  health  that  was  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  get;  Ed  was  con- 
sidered by  all  odds  the  brightest  fellow  in  school.  He  graduated  not 
many  years  after,  but  did  not  arrive  at  any  particular  post  of  distinction; 
is  a  lawyer,  some  place,  if  living. 

We  had  many  enjoyable  days  together.  Ed  did  not  like  to  drill  and 
for  that  reason  came  mighty  near  being  expelled.  A  Lieutenant  Huggins 
of  the  U.  S.  Army  was  stationed  at  the  University  as  an  instructor  in  the 
Manual  of  Arms.  There  were  several  companies,  one  of  which  v/as 
called  the  "Awkward  Squad,"  this  was  composed  of  the  higher  class 
men,  hence  Prebble.  One  morning  the  order  was  given,  "Fall  in  line." 
Ed  did  not  move,  but  stood  looking  on.  "Prebble,  fall  in  line,"  came  the 
command  from  Huggins.  "I  am  afraid  those  awkward  fellows  will  tramp  on 
my  corns.  Lieutenant,"  was  his  reply.  Going  home  that  noon  Ed  asked  me 
what  I  thought  of  his  refusal  to  drill.  My  reply  was  that  he  had  no  right 
to  disobey  Huggins,  as  he  was  placed  there  to  see  that  people  obeyed,  and 
being  a  "West  Pointer"  he  would  not  allow  anything  of  this  kind  to 
go  without  punishment,  probably  expulsion.  Louis  Gillette,  since  one  of 
the  big  iron  men  of  Minneapolis,  and  Dick  Rose  roomed  in  the  same  block 
that  we  did;  they  were  standing  at  their  gate  as  we  were  going  by.  Ed 
stopped  and  said:     "Al  has  been  trying  to  make  me  think  that  I  am  apt  to 


THE   STORY   OF  'AJAX"  17 

get  into  trouble  for  refusing  to  drill  this  morning.  What  do  you  fellows 
think?  They  b>oth  told  him  that  he  had  better  go  down  and  tell  the  Lieu- 
tenant he  was  soiry.  He  did  not  think  so,  so  went  along  for  a  day  or 
tu-o,  when  he  made  up  his  mind  he  had  better  see  Huggins,  as  he  did  not 
wish  to  be  expelled,  as  his  father  had  been  to  a  considerable  expense  in 
sending  him  to  school.  Walking  into  the  Lieutenant's  room,  he  said: 
"Lieutenant  Huggins,  I  came  to  see  you  about  my  action  on  the  campus 
the  other  morning."  To  which  Huggins  replied:  "It  is  too  late;  why 
didn't  you  come  before?  Your  expulsion  papers  are  already  made  out 
to  be  handed  in  this  morning." 

"Say,   Lieutenant,   would  you  have  a  fellow  come  to  you  and  tell 
you  he  was  sorry  before  he  felt  so?" 
JNo. 

"Well,  sir,  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  am  just  beginning  to  feel 
sorry  for  having  disobeyed  your  orders.  Good  morning,"  saying  which 
he  left  the  room. 

The  Lieutenant  was  a  very  nice  man,  and  accepted  the  apology (?). 

I  recall  many  happy  faces  of  those  days.  Wm.  W.  Folwell,  a 
mighty  good  man,  was  president  then.  The  buildmg  was  only  a  wing  of 
some  plan  that  at  some  future  day  might  be  carried  out.  Not  even  that 
much  of  it  stands  today  on  the  campus.  All  these  five  years  spent  in  Min- 
neapolis did  not  wean  me  from  a  desire  to  go  again  to  Montana.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  the  sun  was  shining  brighter  there  than  in  Minnesota; 
that  many  more  chances  would  be  open  for  a  young  man.  I  missed  my 
pony  and  the  free  and  easy  life  of  the  men  whom  I  had  met  there.  Money 
was  not  plentiful  with  me,  nor,  as  far  as  that  was  concerned,  with  many 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted. 

My  father,  in  the  meantime,  had  married  the  Widow  Hubbard. 
She  had  one  child  by  her  first  husband,  Geo.  Hubbard,  named  Jennie. 
By  this  union  there  were  three  children,  G.  W.  Noyes,  Laura  and  Ernest. 
Father  and  a  Mr.  Parsons,  the  man  who  built  the  old  bridge  across  the 
Jefferson,  seven  miles  below  Silver  Star,  had  entered  into  a  partnership 
and  made  some  money  trailing  cattle  from  Denver,  Col.,  in  1872. 
Being,  as  is  generally  the  case,  over-anxious  to  get  rich,  they  attempted 
the  second  drive  the  same  season.  This  brought  them  into  the  Green  River 
country  late  in  the  fall,  with  saddle  horses  in  poor  condition.  They  had 
1 200  head  of  steers.  One  night  a  big  snow  storm  came  up,  which 
caused  the  cattle  to  stampede,  700  getting  away,  not  all  of  them  to  be 
found  again.  Some  of  these  steers  were  found  several  hundred  miles 
from  that  camp  the  next  spring,  not  enough,  however,  to  pay  for  rounding 
them  up.  This  mishap  was  very  discouraging,  leaving  the  men  several 
thousand  dollars  in  debt.  Father  turned  all  he  and  his  wife  had  over  to 
the   Snyder   Bros,   of   Denver  to   pay,   or  help   to   pay,   the   indebtedness. 

This  was  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  left  school  and  returned  to  Mon- 
tana in  the  spring  of  I  874.  Grandmother  sent  money  for  my  faro.  In 
those  days   it  was  considered  better  to  take  the  train   for  Montana  than 


18  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

to  go  by  boat  up  the  Missouri  river.  We  went  from  Minneapolis  to 
Sioux  City,  thence  to  Omaha,  where  we  took  the  U.  P.  for  Corinne,  Utah. 
I  can  remember  one  or  two  httle  things  which  happened  going  to 
Sioux  City.  One  old  farmer-looking  fellow  wanted  to  know  when  we 
would  get  to  Si  Oaks  City.  As  it  did  not  appear  on  the  time  card,  it 
took  some  time  to  find  out  he  meant  Sioux  City.  There  was  also  a 
young  fellow  on  the  train  who  was  going  West.  When  we  arrived  at 
Sioux  City,  the  hotel  and  hack  men  made  a  rush  for  him,  two  or  three 
grabbing  his  grip  at  the  same  time,  each  declaring  his  particular  house 
the  best.  The  fellow  did  not  know  what  to  do.  The  last  thing  I 
heard  him  say  was,  with  tears  running  down  his  cheeks:  "Where  in  h — 1 
am  I  going,  anyway?"  There  has  been  a  radical  change  since  those 
days;  runners  are  not  allowed  on  the  platform  now.  Arriving  at  Omaha, 
we  found  hurry  and  bustle  enough  to  drive  one  wild.  I,  however,  did 
not  have  cause  for  fretting,  as  on  account  of  my  greenness,  I  guess,  I 
was  placed  in  charge  of  a  man  who  kindly  gave  me  the  required  in- 
formation concerning  the  trip;  helped  me  get  my  ticket,  lunch,  etc.,  and 
in  every  way  made  it  agreeable  for  one  traveling  without  experience. 
We  did  not  wait  long  for  the  train,  which  was  a  freight  and  passen- 
ger mixed.  All  the  seats  were  taken,  two  people  in  a  seat,  so  when  you 
took  the  lunch  baskets,  etc.,  into  consideration  we  did  not  have  much 
room  in  which  to  turn.  I  have  forgotten  the  number  of  days  and  nights 
it  took  for  this  journey,  several,  any  way.  The  cars  did  not  attempt  to 
go  much  faster  than  an  ox  team.  Many  a  time,  in  going  up  grade,  people 
would  get  out  and  walk,  gathering  flowers  and  specimens  of  rock,  and 
get  on  again  ere  it  hit  the  down  grade. 

All  things,  at  last,  come  to  an  end,  and  so  did  this  trip.  I  landed 
safely  at  Corinne;  went  to  a  hotel  and  waited  the  arrival  of  my  uncles. 
Will  and  Charles,  who  had,  early  in  the  spring,  started  to  Corinne  for 
freight.  It  was  several  daj's  before  they  came,  but  things  being  new  to 
me,  I  enjoyed  myself  all  right.  When  the  boys  landed  at  the  railroad  they 
could  not  get  freight.  It  did  not  take  them  long  to  make  up  their  minds 
what  to  do.  The  Utah  Northern  was  running  then  into  Cache  Valley  as 
far  as  Franklin.  Uncle  Charles  was  to  take  an  8,  and  I  a  4-horse  team, 
go  to  that  place  for  a  load.  Uncle  Will  was  to  load  with  stuff  which  he 
could  buy  there  and  sell  again  when  in  Montana  at  a  good  price,  such  as 
canned  goods,  lemons,  oranges,  etc.  (Oranges  and  lemons  were  three 
dollars  per  dozen  in  Montana.)  In  order  to  become  first  served  in  get- 
ting freight  in  those  days,  you  must  pull  some  kind  of  a  "string."  The 
men  who  did  the  forwarding  were  not  there  for  their  health.  They  were 
there  for  what  was  in  it.  I  remember  that  my  uncle  had  to  buy  a  wagon 
in  order  to  get  freight,  but  as  they  needed  it,  that  was  no  particular  hard- 
ship. It  began  to  rain  that  spring  and  the  weather  man  lost  all  control, 
so  it  did  not  know  when  to  quit.  We  left  Corinne  late  one  afternoon  to 
camp  on  the  Bear  river  for  the  night.  It  got  very  dark  before  we  arrived 
at  our  camping  place.     When  we  did  get  there,  a  fellow  had  a  small  sage 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  19 

brush  fire.  Charlie  asked  him  how  far  it  was  to  water,  meaning  the 
river,  of  course,  as  water  was  standing  in  puddles  and  was  still  coming 
down. 

"Oh!   just  a  little  ways   over  there,"   pointing  over  his  shoulder. 

Charlie  said:  "Si.  you  go  and  get  some  water,  while  I  attend  to 
the  horses." 

The  other  fellow  thought  it  would  be  a  good  time  for  him  to  get 
water,  so  he  politely  (?)  requested  me  to  take  his  coffeepot  and  fetch 
some  for  his  breakfast.  Say !  Did  you  ever  strike  out  in  the  dark  in  a  new 
and  unknown  place  for  water,  that  you  didn't  know,  except  in  a  general 
way,  where  you  were  going?  Well,  I  knew  that  the  Bear  was  "right 
over  there,"  for  hadn't  this  guy  said  so?  I  took  my  pail  and  coffeepot  and 
started.  Very  soon  reached  the  edge  of  the  high  bank  above  the  stream. 
People  who  have  been  to  Corinne  know  that  the  soil  has  much 
clay  in  it.  You  know  that  when  clay  is  wet  it  is  mighty  un- 
stable, especially  when  it  is  standing  on  edge.  It  did  not  take 
long  to  get  to  the  bank,  and  once  over  it,  took  a  much  shorter 
time  to  "shoot  the  chutes,"  for  that  was  what  happened  to  me.  I  did 
not  go  into  the  river,  as  there  was  a  friendly  patch  of  grassy  land  that 
saved  me.  I  filled  my  dishes  with  muddy  water,  and  began  what  I 
think  was  one  of  the  hardest  trips  in  my  life — and  since  then  I  have  been 
in  many  places.  As  soon  as  my  feet  struck  that  incline  it  seemed  almost 
impossible  to  make  headway.  My  feet  would  slip  and  down  I  would  go; 
more  or  less  water  would  be  spilled  at  each  mishap.  After  what  appeared 
to  be  an  interminable  time,  I  did  arrive  at  the  top  of  that  one-hundred 
foot  bank.      Too  tired  to  eat,  I  went  to  bed. 

The  next  morning  it  was  just  as  muddy  underfoot,  but  much  brighter 
overhead.  This  day  we  pulled  to  Cache  Valley,  which  seemed  to  me 
to  be  one  of  the  prettiest  I  had  ever  seen.  It  was  just  as  the  sun  was 
casting  his  last  rays  over  the  valley  and  river,  gilding  the  distant  moun- 
tam  range  with  a  glorious  hue,  that  we  pulled  to  the  top  of  the  divide  on 
its  eastern  side.  Near  a  little  hamlet  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  we  encamped 
for  the  night.  The  next  day  we  arrived  at  Franklin.  Soon  we  got  a  chance  to 
load,  but  the  place  where  the  depot  was  located  was  an  alkali  flat,  our 
wagons  loaded,  an  attempt  was  made  to  pull  them  to  camp,  one-half  mile 
distant.  Before  we  got  the  length  of  a  wagon  it  would  be  down  to  the 
axle  in  mud;  then  the  struggle  to  get  it  out!  It  took  us  nine  and  a  half 
days  to  get  those  three  wagons  one-half  mile.  Once  out  of  that  bottom, 
we  made  fairly  good  time.  For  some  reason.  Uncle  Will  had  not  left 
as  soon  as  he  expected,  as  he  overtook  us  near  the  Port  Neuf  river.  He 
had  a  white  man,  Geo.  May,  and  three  Chinnmen,  as  passengers,  and  was 
also  trailing  three  buggies  for  Hank  Valiton  of  Deer  Lodge. 

Fvery  day  rain!  rain!  rain!  1  he  day  we  arrived  at  the  Snake 
river  Uncle  Will  and  I  were  ahead,  Charlie  back  some  place  with  all  the 
grub  and  bedding.  He  must  have  been  stuck  in  the  mud,  as  he  did 

not  arrive  that  night.     We  had  an  ax,  as  it  happened,  and  going  down  on 


20  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

the  river  bottom,  we  built  a  good  big  fire  in  some  thick  willows.  It  con- 
tinued to  rain  all  night.  We  were  cold,  wet  and  hungry.  One  of  the 
Chinamen  had  a  blanket,  which  he  insisted  I  should  take,  as  my  health 
was  not  good.  I  shouldn't  say  "insisted,"  as  I  hastily  accepted  his  kind 
offer.  I  have  always  had  a  kindly  feeling  in  my  heart  for  those  people 
ever  since.  This  man  was  unselfish,  a  humble  follower  of  Confucius. 
He  robbed  himself  that  I  might  be  more  comfortable  that  disagreeable 
night.  The  valley  of  the  Snake,  in  those  days,  had  but  few  settlers.  The 
land  was  covered  with  large  sage  brush  and  generally  considered  a  desert. 
It  is  today  ditched  and  irrigated;  city  after  city  has  sprung  up  along  that 
freight  road  and  thousands  of  happy  and  contented  people  now  call  it 
home.     No  better  land  can  be  found  any  place. 

At  last  we  arrived  within  the  confines  of  Montana,  on  the  Red 
Rock  river,  near  what  is  now  Dell.  The  roads  continuing  bad.  Uncle 
Will  came  to  the  conclusion  to  unload  my  wagon,  place  part  of  his  load 
in  it,  and  leave  me  to  watch  my  freight,  which  consisted  of  such  stuff  as 
gum  boots,  not  perishable.  He  would  let  Geo.  May  take  my  team,  and 
they  would  go  for  a  few  days,  or  until  they  found  good  roads. 
Piling  my  stuff  out  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  they  left  me  to  a 
solitude  as  great,  it  seemed  to  me,  as  Robinson  Cruso  enjoyed(?)  on 
Juan  Fernandes.  Charlie,  who  was  generally  behind,  came  along  and 
camped  with  me  one  night.  I  remained  at  this  camp  something  like  ten 
days  before  May  came  back.  I  was  lonesome,  but  not  alone.  I  had 
company,  any  amount  of  it,  or  them,  which  had  stuck  closer  than  a 
brother  ever  since  we  had  camped  among  the  Indians  at  Pocatello.  A 
change  of  underwear  was  the  only  way  of  freeing  myself  from  this  ex- 
ceedingly lively  company;  and  my  trunk  was  way  down  in  the  bottom  of 
a  freight  wagon,  hence  not  attainable.  The  longest  night  must  come  to 
a  close,  so  did  my  stay  on  the  lonely  banks  of  the  Red  Rock.  May  came, 
we  loaded  and  pulled  for  Silver  Bow,  five  miles  from  the  Hump,  where 
we  arrived  40  days  after  having  left  Corinne.  This  was  the  wettest  spring 
I  can  remember,  hence  the  reason  for  being  so  long  on  the  road.  Arriving 
at  the  ranch  there  was  plenty  to  do  to  keep  one  busy ;  no  chance  for  ennui ; 
19  cows  to  milk,  chores  to  do  for  two  families,  wood  to  get  from  the  hills 
nearby  and  water  to  pull  from  a  60-foot  well.  Those  things  did  not 
matter.     I  was  young,  full  of  hope  and  courage. 

My  uncles  continued  to  freight.  They  were  out  all  that  winter  of 
'74  and  '75,  and  say!  that  was  a  winter!  We  lost  over  one-half  of 
our  cattle.  Old  Lizzie,  one  of  the  cows  we  brought  across  the  plains  that 
had  helped  to  pull  the  wagon  when  the  road  was  bad,  that  had  furnished 
us  milk  when  most  needed,  was  one  among  this  number.  We  did  not 
have  any  hay,  depending  too  much  on  the  range.  We  had  cows 
enough  for  a  fair-sized  dairy  the  next  spring,  and  though  we  milked 
almost  20  I  wanted  to  do  something  else.  If  I  could  pass  an 
examination,  I  could  get  a  school  at  Silver  Bow.  People  did  not 
need  much  of  an  education  to  teach  in  those  days,  it  is  needless  to  say,  so 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX'  21 

I  managed  to  get  a  certificate;  $50.00  per  month  and  board  yourself 
were  the  wages.  There  were  but  two  scholars,  unless  I  took  Willie 
Stanchfield  with  me  on  the  horse,  which  I  did  for  a  short  time,  Johnnie 
and  Mickey  Herman.  Grandmother  told  me  to  be  very  careful  and  not 
lose  my  temper,  as  she  understood  that  Herman  would  not  allow  any 
one  to  whip  his  boys,  and  as  they  were  the  only  ones  to  attend  school 
their  loss  would  be  the  occasion  of  stoppage  of  pay.  The  school  room 
was  the  one  next  to  the  house  occupied  by  Herman,  the  partition  not 
so  thick  but  what  much  could  be  heard  by  an  occupant  of  either  room. 
The  boys  began  to  spit  on  the  floor.  I  requested  them  not  to  do  so, 
explaining  that  it  was  very  ungentlemanly  as  well  as  unhealthy.  One 
of  these  little  fellows  looked  at  the  other  and  said:  "We'll  spit  this 
room  so  full  he'll  have  to  have  gum  boots  tomorrow."  This  was  cer- 
tainly encouraging.  Here  were  two  saucy  little  kids  who  could  make 
life  almost  unbearable  for  me.  I  needed  that  $50.00,  so  I  hardly  knew 
what  to  do.  The  next  morning,  on  leaving  home,  I  remarked  to  grandmother 
that  school  would  close  that  day,  as  I  intended  to  go  up  and  kill  those 
two  boys  and  thus  end  my  school  teaching.  When  I  arrived  at  Silver 
Bow  I  rode  up  to  Mr.  Herman,  told  him  how  the  boys  conducted  them- 
selves the  day  before,  and  also  told  him  that  I  understood  he  did  not 
allow  any  one  to  whip  them.  His  reply  was  "You  go  in  and  run  that 
school;  if  you  can't  whip  them  enough,  I  will."  I  "called  school"  and 
the  first  request  was  answered  by  Johnnie  in  a  saucy  and  insulting  man- 
ner. I  did  not  reach  him  before  the  door  was  jerked  open  and  Mr. 
Herman  had  that  boy  down  on  the  floor  giving  him  a  severe  drubbing. 
In  fact,  I  had  to  insist  that  he  quit.  After  that  there  was  no  need  of  my 
lifting  a  hand  against  them,  though  I  taught  five  months.  I  had  not 
been  teaching  long  before  some  one  came  to  the  ranch  and  borrowed  my 
saddle.  This  left  me  on  foot,  adding  somewhat  to  my  work,  as  I  had 
eleven  miles  to  walk,  besides  milking  my  string  of  19  cows,  going  for 
them  also  on  foot.  I  became  a  rapid  walker,  as  it  only  required  one 
hour  to  go  from  the  Hump  to  Silver  Bow,  five  and  a  half  miles. 

The  old  town  of  Silver  Bow  did  not  have  many  people  in  those  days. 
Tommy  Low  and  Cris  Weibold  had  stores.  Ike  Dean  was  saloon  keeper. 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  postmaster,  etc.  and  a  member  of  the  legislature — a 
mighty  good  fellow.  I  remember  a  young  man,  a  minor,  from  Deer 
Lodge  Valley,  who  wanted  a  drink  of  whisky.  He  was  refused  by  Ike. 
who  said:  "You  can't  have  it,  Billy.  I  helped  pass  the  law  not  to  sell 
whisky  to  minors  and  I  will  not  be  one  of  the  first  to  break  it."  Billy 
got  one  of  the  men  to  one  side  and  asked  him  to  find  out  if  Ike  would 
sell  to  a  ranchman.  Cris  Nelson  was  making  beer  in  those  days  and  peddling 
it  out  in  the  different  mining  camps,  such  as  Butte,  German.  French  Gulch, 
etc.  "Old  Man"  Bowers  ran  the  hotel ;  Jake  Herman,  blacksmith  shop.  A 
little  placer  mining  was  going  on  along  Silver  Bow  Creek;  no  oxcitemont 
any  place.  Quartz  mining  was  not  very  attractive,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
under  the  old  mining  law  200   feet   along  the  vein  was  all   that  was  al- 


22  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

lowed.  A  new  law  had  been  passed  taking  effect,  I  think,  on  the  tenth 
day  of  May,  1872,  by  which  one  was  allowed  1500  feet  in  length 
and  600  feet  in  width  along  the  vein.  A  200-foot  claim  would  not, 
generally,  be  rich  enough  to  justify  one  in  the  expenditure  of  much  money. 

In  Butte  there  lived  a  man  at  that  time  who  has  never  received  full 
credit  for  what  he  has  done  toward  the  upbuilding  of  that  place  and 
the  state  of  Montana.  He  was  a  man  who  did  not  possess  v/ealth,  very 
unassuming  in  appearance.  One  who  believed  in  the  future  of  Butte  as  a 
mining  camp.  He  assayed  and  had  assayed  ore  in  quantities  large  enough 
,to  make  assurance  doubly  sure.  He  had  waited  until  the  new  law  came 
into  effect  and  on  January  1  st  had  located  several  claims,  among  them 
the  "Travonia."  This  man,  Wm.  Farlin,  was  not  a  visionary,  but  was 
so  considered  because  he  did  not  "make  good"  financially.  He  could 
see,  as  tho  the  veil  had  been  brushed  from  the  face  of  the  Future,  the  many 
and  exceedmgly  bright  spots  of  what  was  to  be  and  now  is. 

While  living  at  the  Hump  I  made  a  trip  to  Deer  Lodge.  I  was 
the  guest  of  Chas.  S.  Warren,  then  the  sheriff  of  Deer  Lodge  county. 
Mrs.  V/arren  had  been  a  playmate  of  mine  in  Minnesota.  Warren  was 
a  young  man  of  much  promise  and  I  think  the  "General"  has  made 
good,  as  he  has  been  a  figurehead  in  territory  and  state  ever  since.  On 
that  occasion  I  met  Mace  and  Earl,  brothers  of  C.  S.  Warren,  also  Wesley 
Jones,  one  of  the  finest  gentlemen  in  Montana.  Cooking  at  the  Warren 
home  was  Charles  Porter,  a  colored  man,  who  afterwards  became  the 
celebrated  "Blue  Dick"  who,  they  claim,  buncoed  Thos.  H.  Carter 
and  many  others  in  mining  deals.  John  Noyes  gave  Blue  Dick  the  corner 
on  Main  and  Broadway,  opposite  W.  A.  Clark  and  Bros.'  Bank,  pro- 
viding Dick  would  build  a  barber  shop.  The  logs  were  hauled,  but  Dick 
was  too  tired  to  do  much  hard  work,  so  Noyes  got  the  lot  back.  These 
things  only  go  to  prove  that  some  people  are  born  "lucky."  John  Noyes 
was  one  of  these.  He,  through  the  lack  of  ambition  on  the  part  of  Blue 
Dick,  got  back  a  piece  of  property  which  vvas  afterwards  worth  thousands, 
that  he  had  been  willing  to  give  away  to  help  improve  Butte.  Blue 
Dick  is  a  part  of  the  story  of  Butte  and  Montana,  hence  notice  of  him 
here. 

As  I  mentioned  above,  I  got  acquainted  with  Mace  Warren.  Mace, 
in  those  days,  was  somewhat  celebrated  on  account  of  having  captured  a 
prisoner  who  had  escaped  from  the  Deer  Lodge  county  jail.  The  fellow 
would  not  stop  until  Mace  had  put  some  lead  into  him,  causing  a  wound 
which  soon  got  well.  This  act  made  a  lion  of  the  young  man  and  he 
could  get  almost  anything  he  requested  in  the  town.  Years  afterward  Ed. 
S.  Larabie,  the  Deer  Lodge  banker,  told  me  the  following  story: 
"Mace  came  into  the  bank  one  day  and  requested  the  loan  of  one 
hundred  dollars.  *I  suppose  you  know.  Mace,  that  in  getting  money 
from  a  bank  you  must  have  some  one  sign  a  note  with  you?  Who  can 
you  get?'  'No,'  he  replied,  *I  did  not  know  that  it  was  necessary  for  one 
to  have  some  one  sign  for  him  in  order  to  get  the  money  from  a  bank,  so 


THE   STORY   OF  "'AJAX"  23 

I  guess  that  lets  me  out,  as  there  is  no  one  whom  I  know  who  would 
probably  care  to  do  that.'  I  saw  his  look  of  disappointment  and  told  him 
I  would  go  on  his  note,  which  I  did  and  gave  him  the  money.  He  was 
about  I  7  at  that  time.  Meeting  him  years  after,  in  Butte,  I  said:  'Mace,  do 
you  remember  that  you  got  $100.00  of  me  once,  which  is  now  past  due?' 
He  looked  at  me  a  moment  and  remarked :  'Yes,  Ed,  I  remember  it,  but  I 
can't  pay  it  now,  but  if  you  want  a  better  endorser,  I  will  try  and  find  one'." 

One  afternoon  about  4  o'clock,  a  gentleman  came  to  our  place  and 
asked  grandmother  if  she  could  get  him  an  early  supper.  She  said  she 
would,  introducing  me  to  W.  A.  Clark.  He  was  on  his  way  from  Butte 
to  Deer  Lodge.  If  I  could  have  realized  the  import  of  that  conversation  with 
a  man  who  was  one  day  to  become  a  great  factor  in  the  money  world,  as 
well  as  United  States  senator  from  Montana,  I  would  have  become  exceed- 
ingly wealthy.  Butte  was  just  then  becoming  the  "talk."  So  I  asked  Mr. 
Clark  what  he  thought  of  the  place  and  its  possibilities.  It  is 
going  to  be  a  great  camp,  as  there  is  any  amount  of  ore  that  can  be  made 
to  pay.  I  would  advise  a  young  man  to  go  there  and  get  a  foot- 
hold." He  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  firm  of  Donnell,  Clark  &  Larabie, 
bankers  at  Deer  Lodge.  It  was  his  money  that  started  the  wheels  going 
in  the  old  Dexter  mill,  which  proved  the  richness  of  Butte  ore,  and  Wm. 
Farlin's  claim.     This  was  before  the  days  of  Marcus  Daly. 

My  first  visit  to  Butte  was  July  4th,  1875.  The  occasion  was  a 
dance  given  by  the  Hauswirth  Brothers,  Simon  and  John;  at  the  old 
Hotel  De'  Mineral,  which  consisted  of  two  log  buildings,  on  the  site  of 
W.  A.  Clark  &  Bros.'s  bank.  I  rode  to  Butte  on  horseback  and  picketed 
my  horse  near  where  the  Catholic  church  now  stands,  in  bunch  grass 
knee  high.  There  were  but  few  ladies,  young  or  old,  in  Butte  at  that  time.  I 
recall  Mrs.  Wm.  Owsley,  Mrs.  John  Noyes,  Hauswirth  family.  Miss 
Alice  Humphrey,  an  exceedingly  nice  young  lady,  who  died,  I  think,  the 
next  winter.  That  night  I  became  acquainted  with  John  Wampler,  afterward 
to  become  my  brother-in-law.  When  the  dance  was  over  I  went  with  him 
to  his  cabin,  which  was  standing  the  summer,  1910,  on  lower  Montana 
street,  near  the  Shonbar  mine.  John  was  as  neat  as  could  be,  his  windows 
had  white  curtains,  also  a  variety  of  plants,  making  it  very  attractive. 

Some  time  during  the  summer  of  1875  Allen  Pierse,  a  nephew  of 
Ed  Cobbin,  the  manager  for  Gilmer  and  Salisbury  stage  line,  who  had 
been  driving  mail  cart  from  Forrest's  to  Deer  Lodge,  made  arrangements 
to  buy  the  Milot  Station  from  Uncle  Will.  His  mother,  brother  and 
two  sisters,  Mollie,  now  Mrs.  Mell  Lowery,  and  Annie  were  coming.  It 
was  not  long  before  these  people  came  from  Buffalo.  N.  Y.  The  stage 
station  was  then  moved  from  Silver  Bow  to  this  ranch.  Mollie  and  Annie 
were  very  bright  and  attractive  girls,  so  the  old  place  became  the  mecca 
for  many  of  the  young  fellows  of  Butfc.  As  the  station  was  on  the  side 
hill,  just  before  you  crossed  the  divide  into  Deer  la»dgc  Valley,  and  as 
the  young  ladies  were,  as  I  have  said  from  Buffalo,  the  place  soon  became 
known  as  the  "Buffalo  1  lump,"  or  "1  he  1  lump."     Allen  is  now  a  prom- 


24  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX  • 

inent  citizen  of  Great  Fails.  Steve  died  in  Mexico,  and  "Mother"  Pierse 
has  been  dead  these  many  years,  and  the  old  place  is  no  more  what  it  was 
in  those  early  days.  While  I  lived  at  the  "Hump"  I  rode  the  range  for 
stock  a  good  deal,  mostly  in  the  Deer  Lodge  Valley.  Many  a  time  have  I 
chased  horses  where  now  is  the  city  of  Anaconda,  then  a  stock  range.  Dur- 
ing these  rides  I  got  acquainted  with  the  Hensleys,  Evans,  Nortons,  Thomas, 
Gregsons,  etc.,  and  especially  with  Senator  B.  D.  Phillips,  now  the  big 
sheepman  of  Blaine  county,  and  a  successful  mining  man  in  the  Little 
Rockies.  While  at  this  ranch,  father  came  and  made  me  a  visit.  This  was 
the  first  time  I  had  seen  him  in  over  five  years.  He  had  been  engaged 
in  ranching,  also  blacksmithing,  and  was  getting  on  fairly  well. 

The  Hamiltons  came  in  the  fall,  as  they  had  butter  to  sell,  the  pro- 
duct of  the  season,  which  found  a  market  that  year  at  Philipsburg  with 
Caplice  &  Smith.  From  this  one  can  get  an  idea  what  the  dairy  business 
was  in  those  days.  The  drudgery  of  making  the  long  distance  to  travel 
before  finding  a  sale.  In  this  particular  instance  it  was  over  1  70  miles. 
Late  in  the  fall  of  '75,  having  prospected  near  the  head  of  German 
Gulch  for  a  while,  we  went  to  Butte  and  located  claims  ]ust  north  of  the 
Big  Butte.  Geo.  Tibbitts,  the  man  who  crossed  the  plans  with  us,  was 
one  of  our  partners  in  four  claims.  As  we  had  sold  our  home,  we  came 
to  the  conclusion  to  go  to  Butte  and  live.  Uncle  Will  and  I  took  a  team 
and  camp  outfit  and  went  to  Travonia,  southwest  of  Butte,  and  located 
town  lots.  We  had  to  sleep  in  Frank  Allen's  blacksmith  shop  (he 
was  the  man  who  built  the  first  gold  mill  in  Montana).  The  only  place 
comfortable  enough  to  sit  down  in  was  the  saloon  run  by  the  Hauswirths. 
To  this  place  we  generally  went  for  the  evening,  going  down  one  mile  to 
bed  about  1  1  o'clock. 

It  would,  no  doubt,  be  of  interest  to  the  people  of  Butte  to  know  that 
we  only  had  16  scholars,  12  years  of  age  up  to  20,  that  27th  of  February, 
1876,  to-wit:  Neson  Tarkelson,  20;  Al  Noyes,  20;  Henry  Rundel,  16; 
Joe  Belcher,  1  6 ;  Rolla  Butcher,  1  2  ;  Thomas  Orr,  1  3  ;  James  Orr,  I  2  ; 
Charles  Girton,  1  z7"Cash  Thompson,  19;  Dora  Beal  (Mrs.  Frank  Bate- 
man),  18;  Ella  Beal  (Mrs.  Geo.  Newkirk),  17;  Ray  McDaniels  (Mrs. 
Chas.  Wilson),  16;  Alice  Farlin,  17;  Lucy  Farlin,  17;  Bertha  Haus- 
wirth   (Mrs.  John  Rowan),   14;  Mary  Beebe  (Mrs.  Hank  Valiton),   13. 

A  note  says  that  school  will  commence  October  30th,  1876.  Patrick 
Tallent,  teacher,  and  under  that,  school  opened  October  30th  with  54 
scholars  and  Miss  Lizzie  E.  Self  (afterward  Mrs.  Clint  Freyschlag)  in 
charge  of  primary  department. 

The  town  was  by  this  time  on  the  boom,  as  John  How  was  also 
building  a  mill  for  the  reduction  of  ore.  I  remember  that  Bill  McDermott, 
who  afterwards  built  the  McDermott,  or  Finlen,  worked  on  this  mill. 
We  soon  got  up  a  fairly  good  cabin,  so  we  could  move  the  folks 
to  town.  There  was  but  little  one  could  do  to  earn  money  in  Butte  that 
winter.  It  cost  $80.00  per  ton  to  get  ore  milled,  and  not  many  people 
could  afford  to  pay  such  a  price.     Some  ore  was  rich  enough  to  ship  to 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  25 

Salt  Lake  by  team  and  from  there  across  the  Atlantic  for  treatment. 
As  there  did  not  appear  to  be  anything  for  me  to  do,  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  go  to  school.     Joe  Saville  taught  that  winter. 

The  next  spring  I  rode  the  roundup  in  the  Jefferson  Valley,  coming 
back  to  Butte  for  the  summer  and  the  cows.  The  4th  of  July,  '76,  I  took 
part  in  the  celebration — Whittier's  Centennial  Hymn.  I  also  made  up  my 
mind  to  make  a  few  dollars  that  day.  I  rented  the  building  afterward 
occupied  by  the  First  National  Bank  of  Jake  Poznansky.  I  sold  ice  cream 
during  the  day  and  oysters  during  the  evening,  taking  in  over  $125.00.  I 
also  rode  Drigg's  sorrel  mare  in  a  race,  beating  the  aforesaid  "Blue  Dick" 
out  of  all  he  possessed.     Certainly  a  very  busy  24  hours. 

The  Forbis  family  had  come  from  Helena.  Will  was  running  a 
candy  shop  in  a  small  building  near  the  Centennial  hotel.  In  the  same 
building  was  a  small  room  used  as  a  cobbler  shop;  John  Forbis  had  his 
law  office  with  the  cobbler.  John  may  have  had  a  book  or  two,  he  cer- 
tainly did  not  have  any  furniture,  not  even  a  chair,  using  a  goods  box  for 
that  purpose.  He  was  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  of  mining  lawyers. 
There  were  three  boys  in  this  family,  William,  John  and  James.  Will 
used  to  be  a  fright  to  sleep  with,  would  get  up  and  walk  in  his  sleep,  etc, 
and  either  John  or  Jim  would  sleep  with  him,  and  then  kick  about  loss 
of  sleep  the  next  day.  Tom  Wampler  got  off  a  pretty  good  thing  on  the 
boys  one  day.  He  said:  "Those  Forbis  boys  are  the  darndest  fools  I  ever 
saw;  there  are  only  three  of  them  and  Bill  is  a  terror  to  sleep  with,  and  the 
other  two  have  not  got  sense  enough  to  sleep  together  and  let  Bill  sleep 
alone,  but  one  or  the  other  will  sleep  with  him  and  kick  all  the  next  day." 

Everything  was  wide  open  in  those  days  and  the  fellow  who  did  not 
play  cards  was  an  exception.  Fred  Lober  built  a  hall,  in  which  all  the 
entertainments  were  held.  At  a  club  dance  one  night  I  remarked  to  a  man 
named  McCall  that  it  would  be  a  good  t.hing  to  start  a  Sunday  School. 
He  immediately  fell  into  the  scheme  and  stopping  the  music  announced 
that  those  interested  in  Sunday  School  work  would  meet  at  the  I.  O.  G.  T. 
hall  Sunday  afternoon  (this  was  Friday  evening),  when  we  would  pro- 
ceed to  establish  Sunday  School  work.  This  was  all,  the  music  started 
and  the  dance  went  on.  Sunday  afternoon  many  people  met,  and  what  I 
believe  to  have  been  the  first  Sunday  School  in  Butte  was  then  begun. 
McCall  was  elected  superintendent.  Miss  Lizzie  Self,  treasurer,  and  I, 
secretary.     This  was  known  for  years  as  the  Union  Sunday  School. 

Property  was  cheai)  in  those  days,  but  as  no  one  knew  what  the  fu- 
ture would  bring  forth,  many  of  the  old  timers  did  not  get  it.  I  think, 
and  in  fact,  know,  that  the  people  who  had  experience  in  quartz  mining 
considered  it  dangerous.  The  cry  was  that  ore  did  not  generally  "go 
down,"  etc.,  etc.  I  remember  that  while  I  was  leaciiinj^  school  in  Silver  Bow 
in  the  summer  of  '74,  a  miner,  Harry  Gasscrt,  told  me  thai  if  ever  he  made 
a  raise  and  I  wanted  money  with  which  to  enter  any  little  business,  he 
would  let  me  have  it.  Not  long  after  Jake  Reding  and  Gassert  did  make 
quite  a  lot  of  money  in  the  mines.  I  had  not  ready  cash,  but  did  have  some 


26  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

cattle.  One  day  Tom  Wampler  came  to  me  and  said  he  could  buy  the 
corner  on  Main  and  Granite,  opposite  the  Hennessy  building,  for  $500,  of 
Big  Bill  McNamara;  that  he  had  made  arrangements  with  Jerre  Roach 
for  lumber,  etc.,  and  that  I  had  better  go  and  see  Gassert.  I  went  out 
to  Burlington,  saw  him  and  told  him  I  could  get  the  lot  for  $500.00, 
and  would  like  to  get  the  money.  He  said:  "Al,  you  can 
have  the  money  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  but  as  I  intend  to  erect  a 
mill,  I  will  need  all  I  have  and  will  expect  it  when  due.  Before  letting 
you  have  it,  I  want  to  tell  you  what  I  think.  From  my  experience  in 
quartz  camps,  it  won't  be  long  before  you  will  see  cows  eating  grass  in 
the  streets  of  Butte."  It  was  only  $500,  but  I  did  not  want  to  get  in 
debt.  Under  the  circumstances,  we  did  not  buy.  Six  weeks  after  Mc- 
Namara sold  to  James  Matthews  for  $  1 ,000.  No  cow  has  ever  gotten 
very  fat  on  green  grass  in  the  streets  of  Butte.  I  walked  into  Chastine 
Humphrey's  blacksmith  shop  one  day,  then  a  little  building  on  the  present 
site  of  the  First  National  Bank.  Looking  out  to  the  west  and  across  the 
gulch  back  of  the  shop,  he  called  my  attention  to  several  hundred  feet 
he  owned  along  what  is  now  Broadway,  and  said:  "Al,  my  boy,  let 
me  sell  you  that  land.  You  can  have  it  for  $200 — and  pay  for  it  when 
you  can."  Here  was  a  man  who  had  been  identified  with  the  city  of  Butte 
since  its  early  placer  days,  having  been  one  of  the  firm  of  Allison  & 
Humphrey  that  had  brought  in  one  of  the  big  ditches,  wanting  to  give 
me,  almost,  one  of  the  most  valuable  pieces  of  property  or  real  estate  in 
the  place.  This  same  man  did  give  to  Philip  Poacher  3,000  pounds  of 
beef  and  a  lot  in  the  center  of  that  same  block  if  he  would  start  a  butcher 
shop  in  Butte.  It  is  no  wonder  then,  that  a  boy,  having  such  advice  as 
Gassert's  and  Humphrey's,  did  not  get  all  the  real  estate  he  could.  Over 
thirty  years  after,  in  a  conversation  with  Wint  Raymond  of  Sheridan, 
Montana,  he  told  me  that  we  could  have  gotten  rich  in  Butte  if  it 
hadn't  been  for  lack  of  confidence.  Such  men  as  Geo.  Newkirk,  Valentine 
Kropf,  Dave  Upton,  Humphrey  Bros.,  Reece  Wampler,  who  sold  al- 
most one-half  block  on  Main — same  block  which  is  now  the  site  of  the 
Hennessy  building — for  $600;  Forbis  Bros.,  and  others  too  numerous  to 
mention    could    not   see. 

A  story  was  once  told  me  by  Mrs.  Owsley,  matron  of  State  Normal 
College,  concerning  Bill  Owsley,  her  husband's  brother.  It  seemed  that 
Bill  and  a  partner  owned  a  whole  lot  of  real  estate  on  lower  Main.  They 
also  had  $  1 00  in  cash.  They  each  desired  to  wipe  the  dust  of  Butte 
from  his  feet,  but  having  property  not  salable,  and  not  wanting  to  leave 
it  altogether,  one  proposed  they  play  a  game  of  seven-up,  the  winner  to  take 
the  money.  Bill  lost  the  $100,  and  won  the  site  of  the  Owsley  Block. 
He  felt  so  bad  he  actually  cried. 

A  young  man,  Milton  Barnhart,  and  I  located  the  claim  which  is 
now  Foster  and  Leggett's  addition  to  Butte.  We  did  not  have  confidence. 
The  Tramway  mine,  since  so  famous  in  the  litigation  in  Butte, 
was  once  mine  under  some  other  name,  now  forgotten  by  me.     The  exceed- 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  27 

ingly  rich  Comanche,  the  property  of  Geo.  Tibbitts  and  \V.  B.  Stanch- 
field — they  called  it  the  "Lizzie  Ellen,"  for  Stanchfield's  wife.  They 
sunk  a  shaft  40  feet  deep  and  let  it  go.  Thirty-eight  million  dollars  have 
been  taken  out  of  it  since.  What  is  the  use  in  drawing  more 
upon  such  disagreeable  subjects,  as  lost  chances.  They  come  to  people 
all  through  life.  It  seems  that  he  who  is  successful  becomes  so  as  much 
through  chance  as  foresight.  John  F.  Forbis  once  said  to  me:  "There 
is  a  money  sense,  Al,  that  so  many  do  not  have.  Take,  for 
instance,  so  and  so;  you  knew  them;  they  had  no  education;  they 
were  not  considered  bright  in  any  way;  yet  their  estates  showed  almost 
$500,000  each.  You  have  got  to  have  money  sense  or  you  can't  make 
money."  Dunng  those  years  I  lived  in  Butte  I  got  acquainted  with  Mantle, 
J.  R.  Clark,  who  started  a  branch  of  the  Donnell,  Clark  &  Larabie  bank 
in  Butte,  in  the  corner  of  a  grocery  store  run  by  the  Cohen  Bros.,  Dave 
and  Alex;  J.  R.  Russel,  M.  J.  Connell,  Alex  and  Sam  Johnson,  D.  J. 
Hennessy,  John  Gillie,  Dave  Upton,  John  Noyes,  Judge  Caleb  Irvin, 
Geo.  W.  Irvin  II.,  Dr.  Ford,  the  old  postmaster,  Mell  Lovvery,  Jim 
Talbot,  Orton   Bros.,  in  fact,  almost  every  one  in  the  place. 

In  the  early  spring  of  '77  I  made  a  visit  to  Argenta,  Bannack  and 
Horse  Prairie.  There  was  a  young  lady  living  on  the  Prairie  with  whom 
I  had  corresponded  for  some  time  before  her  advent  in  Montana,  so  it 
was  probably  as  much  on  her  account  as  any  other  that  I  made  that 
trip.  In  going  over  to  Horse  Prairie  I  stopped  at  Argenta  to  see  the  French 
family  that  had  been  residents  of  Bannack  years  before,  and  whom  I 
had  not  seen  for  years.  Also  met  my  old  friends,  Billy  Mcintosh,  Rufe 
Ferster,  the  Nays,  Blairs,  Geo.  Dart,  Pat  Dempsey,  Bill  Goodrich, 
Ameda  Bessette,  F.  L.  Graves,  in  Bannack.  Arriving  at  Hamilton's 
I  proceeded  to  enjoy  myself.  We  became  acquainted  with  several  of  the 
neighboring  ranchmen,  particularly  with  the  Winters  and  Montague, 
who  owned  the  ranch  now  possessed  by  J.  C.  Brenner.  We  also 
made  a  visit  to  Red  Rock,  at  the  home  of  Joe  Shineberger.  Misses 
Lizzie  and  Maggie  (now  Mrs.  Wm.  Roe)  were  then  living  with  their 
brother.  We  had  a  most  enjoyable  time  there  for  a  week.  From  there  we 
went  to  M.  Barrett's  and  spent  several  memorable  days.  Also  visiting 
the  Watsons  in  Bannack.  These  were  happy  days.  All  clouds  had  silver 
linings.  Youth  and  optimism  or  un-wisdom,  filled  life  full.  No  misgiv- 
ings of  an  unknown  future  clouded  our  vision. 

In  due  time  I  returned  to  Butte,  securing  a  position  with  a  Mr.  Sigsby. 
who  was  then  operating  a  brick  yard.  (This  man  Sigsby  was  one  of  the 
men  in  Walker's  filibustering  expedition  in  Central  America,  having  put 
the  sum  of  $14,000  into  it).  My  work  consisted  in  off -bearing  the 
brick.  It  was  mighty  hard  for  a  person  of  my  size,  but  my  nerve  would 
not  allow  me  to  quit,  without  a  very  good  excuse.  It  came  pretty  soon 
in  the  following  way:  Atwood  Lawrence,  afterward  the  superintendent  at 
the  Vulcan  and  Goldsmith  mines,  a  cousin  of  mine,  a  "six-footer,"  and  Joe 
Campbell,    later   a    marshal    in    the   Coeur   d'Alencs,    also    a    good    husky 


2S  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

fellow,  came  to  the  conclusion  the  work  was  too  hard  for  them,  so  asked 
for  their  time.  This  was  my  cue.  I  went  up  town  that  evening.  Billy 
Wilson  wanted  to  know  if  I  would  take  a  job  making  "soda  pop."  I 
consented  to  this  and  began  the  manufacturing  of  pop.  This  was  the 
first  place  of  the  kind  started  in  Butte.  As  I  was  not  required  to  be 
busy  any  great  length  of  time  each  day  for  Billy,  he  told  me  I  could  get 
something  on  the  side.  "Big  Bill"  McNamara  owned  the  building  where 
we  were  making  pop,  and  also  had  some  vacant  ground  west  of  it.  At 
my  request  he  built  a  frame  building  and  rented  it  to  me  for  an  "Ice 
Cream  Parlor."  I  opened  this  place,  having  for  a  partner  Nat  P.  Evans. 
We  did  exceedingly  well  in  this  business,  considering  the  times.  Our 
receipts  were  $3.50  to  $42.50  per  day.  Henry  McMurphy,  Nat's 
brother-in-law,  advised  us  to  put  our  money  into  town  lots,  but  being 
young  we  were  too  wise  to  accept  the  advice,  so  spent  our  money  as  we 
made  it. 

Early  that  summer  Chief  Joseph  of  the  Nez  Perces  began  to  have 
some  trouble  with  the  whites,  which  a  little  later  drove  him  on  the  war- 
path. While  this  was  in  the  territory  of  Idaho,  it  might  be  possible  that 
he  would  head  for  Montana,  and  in  that  event  the  trouble  would  be  brought 
home  to  us.  It  was  not  long  until  it  developed  that  he  v/ould  come  our 
way,  and  soon  people  of  Missoula  began  calling  for  help.  Sev- 
eral of  the  boys  answered  the  first  call.  Billy  Woodward, 
Charlie  Whitford  and  several  more.  They  wanted  me  to  go  also.  Under 
the  circumstances  I  did  not  believe  it  necessary,  especially  as  I  was  the 
only  one  to  take  care  of  my  grandmother,  who  was  a  very  old  lady.  The 
boys  even  went  so  far  as  to  intimate  that  I  was  afraid  to  go.  I  did  not 
pay  any  attention  to  this,  other  than  to  say  that  when  the  Indians  got  to 
Montana  I  would  be  glad  to  do  all  I  could.  In  the  meantime  I  was  get- 
ting along  nicely. 

There  came  a  day,  July  28th,  only  a  short  time  after,  when,  return- 
ing one  afternoon  from  Meaderville,  I  saw  a  crowd  on  Main  street,  be- 
tween Broadway  and  Granite.  Some  one  was  on  a  dry  goods  box  making 
a  speech.  On  getting  nearer,  I  saw  that  it  was  W.  A.  Clark.  He  had 
]ust  arrived  from  Deer  Lodge,  having  made  the  trip  from  that  place  to 
Butte — 42  miles — in  three  and  a  half  hours,  without  change  of  horse. 
His  talk  was  fiery  and  enthusing.  He  would,  if  they  wished,  lead 
them  against  Chief  Joseph  and  his  tribe.  This  was  no  time  to  hesitate, 
the  call  had  come  from  Missoula  for  help.     Who  would  go? 

The  following  were  the  Butte  Volunteers,  July  28th,  1877.  Co.  A: 
Captain,  W.  A.  Clark;  First  Lieut.,  C.  S.  Warren;  Second  Lieut., 
James  A.  Talbot;  First  Sergeant,  C.  A.  B.  Halverson;  Simon  Hauswirth, 
C.  E.  Humphreys,  L.  A.  Flint,  J.  K.  Bradley,  Sam  P.  Alexander,  Dan 
Yager,  B.  T.  Porter,  Jas.  Widner,  John  F.  Forbis,  John  McGregor,  Thos. 
Bradley,  Chas.  Freeman,  J.  G.  Keith,  J.  F.  Prouse,  W.  G.  Pfouts,  Geo. 
Maney,  Peter  McDermott,  Sam  M.  Johnson,  Wm.  B.  Elliott,  B.  C, 
Benson,  J.  W.  Ryan,  G.  O.  Humphreys,  Wm.  Joy,  Jas.  Boyd,  W.  L. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX*'  29 

Kinnear,  M.  E.  Gilmore,  J.  T.  Argyle,  Pat  Tallent,  \Vm.  Whitman,  A. 
L.  Johnson,  Wm.  McNamara,  J.  K.  Mallory,  S.  Simpson,  J.  T.  Cough- 
yenour,  Chas.  Behm,  Edward  Chevalier,  Patrick  Whalen,  J.  L.  Duff, 
A.  J.  Grubb,  Timothy  Kennedy,  J.  S.  Meliffe,  John  Casheon,  J.  K. 
Clark,  J.  A.  Talbot,  Geo.  Lavelle,  Joseph  E.  Cooke,  J.  F.  McLin,  A.  J. 
Noyes,  Morris  Terry,  Michael  Kellett,  Martin  O'Brien,  Dan  Magee, 
Patrick  Oart,  Jno.  Clark,  M.  T.  Kelley,  AI.  G.  Terrell,  G.  S.  Calla- 
ghan,  Lyman  Blackvvell,  I.  C.  Burkett,  S.  B.  Cusick,  E.  Maloney,  Alex 
Johnson,  Wm.   Haines,  H.  A.  Willard. 

1  here  was  no  such  thing  as  waiting.  We  must  go  to  Deer  Lodge  as 
fast  as  we  could  get  transportation.  I  went  to  my  place  of  business,  turned 
it  over  to  a  boy,  then  went  home  for  gun  and  saddle.  When  I  told 
grandmother  what  I  had  done,  she  began  to  cry  and  said:  "You  are 
just  big  fool  enough  to  go  and  get  killed."  Alex  Ralston  was  running 
a  stage  line  in  those  days.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to 
have  it  ready  for  a  crowd.  I  happened  to  be  one  of  the 
first  ready,  so  went  with  him.  When  down  near  the  Centennial  Brewery 
we  overtook  a  fellow  who  was  riding  a  mule  bareback,  with  only  a  blind 
bridle.  It  was  Big  Jack  McAuliff,  a  blacksmith  at  one  of  the  mines  on 
"The  Hill."  "Where  are  you  going.  Jack,"  I  asked.  "Deer  Lodge," 
was  his  reply.  I  told  him  to  use  my  saddle,  which  he  was  only  too  glad 
to  do.  There  must  have  been  some  good  material  in  a  man  who  was 
willing  to  ride  42  miles,  at  night,  on  a  work  mule  without  a  saddle,  to 
succor  some  one  who  had  called  for  assistance  down  at  Missoula,  1 40 
mile  away.  "Billy"  Clark  knew  the  men  of  Butte.  When  he  left  Deer  Lodge 
for  Butte,  he  ordered  men  to  ride  through  the  Deer  Lodge  Valley  and  im- 
press all  saddle  horses.  These  horses  were  to  be  at  Deer  Lodge  early  the 
next  morning.  We  rode  all  night,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  coming  up 
we  got  to  the  "Little  Camp  on  the  Trail  to  Bear." 

Jim  Irwin  was  a  young  fellow  who  mined  on  the  hill.  He  and  I 
were  particular  friends.  We  had  agreed  to  stick  together,  no  matter  what 
happened.  Jim,  as  well  as  the  other  boys,  was  broke,  not  having  had  time 
to  call  for  a  check.  "What  shall  we  do  for  something  to  eat?"  he  asked 
me.  I  had  some  money,  but  not  enough  to  feed  the  crowd,  so  I  told 
him  we  had  better  call  on  Jas.  Mills,  secretary  of  the  territory.  This  we 
proceeded  to  do.  Mills  come  to  the  door  in  his  night  robe,  and  kindly  asked 
us  what  he  could  do  for  us.  Irwin  was  spokesman.  "Mr.  Secretary, 
we  left  Butte  in  such  a  hurry  that  we  did  not  get  any  money  for  ex- 
penses, and  as  we  have  been  riding  all  night,  we  are  hungry;  so  have 
called  on  you  to  see  what  you  would  suggest."  "Go  to  the  hotel,  boys, 
and  get  what  you  want  and  have  it  charged  to  me."  "Thank  you. 
Mr.  Secretary,  but  there  are  over  two  hundred  of  us  in  the  same  condi- 
tion. \X''hat  about  them?"  Irwin  asked.  "It  doesn't  make  any  difference 
how  many,  it  will  be  all  right."  We  proceeded  to  get  something  to  eat, 
spreading  the  news  to  the  late  comers,  so  they  could  get  in  on  James  H. 
Mills. 


30  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

There  was  certainly  enough  going  on  that  morning  in  Deer  Lodge 
to  keep  me  interested.  Ranchmen  were  coming  to  town  with  horses  as  per 
request  of  Clark;  who  had  himself  gotten  to  Deer  Lodge  early  that  day. 
As  fast  as  men  could  become  equipped  with  saddle  and  gun,  they  were 
furnished  a  horse.  As  I  had  my  outfit  with  me,  I  soon  secured  a  splen- 
did brown,  the  property  of  Spencer  Johnson,  a  ranchman  near 
Warm  Spring  Creek.  My  friend  Irwin  got  a  small  pony.  We  had  orders 
to  go,  as  soon  as  horses  were  issued  to  us,  to  a  rendezvous  at  New  Chi- 
cago. Irwin  and  I  started  down  the  river,  and  had  ridden  but  a  few  miles 
when  Jim  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  trade  horses  with  the  first 
person  he  met  who  had  something  that  looked  better  than  the  one  he 
was  riding.  We  met  two  ranchmen  shortly  after,  and  Jim  made  a  "big 
talk"  and  secured  a  very  nice  looking  horse  in  exchange  for  his  pony.  We 
were  riding  leisurely  along,  some  ten  miles  north  of  Deer  Lodge,  when  all 
at  once  we  saw  a  man  riding  towards  us  fit  to  kill.  It  was  Sam  Alexander, 
since  quite  a  character  in  Butte.  "What  is  the  matter,  Sam?"  one  of  us 
asked  him.     He  never  slacked  up,  but  replied:     "I  don  know;  I  don  know." 

I  am  not  saying  that  Sam  was  afraid  of  anything,  but  he  was  going 
like  the  wind  toward  the  crowd.  As  we  could  not  get  any  satisfaction 
out  of  him,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  continue  on  until  something  of  a 
different  nature  proved  to  us  that  we  too  should  turn  back.  We  rode 
along  for  a  mile  or  two,  to  a  high  hill  that  was  on  the  trail,  looking  down 
onto  a  piece  of  bottom  land  along  the  Deer  Lodge,  we  saw  quite  a 
number  of  men  coming  toward  us.  We  soon  met  James  Prowse  and  some 
other  man,  and  from  them  received  the  information  that  a  courier  from 
Missoula  had  just  met  them  with  word  from  there  that  the  Indians  had 
passed  up  the  Bitter  Root  and  that  we  had  better  head  them  off  in  the 
Big  Hole  Basin.  We  at  once  turned  our  heads  toward  Deer  Lodge, 
where  we  arrived  for  dinner  and  further  orders.  Clark,  now  a  major, 
ordered  us  to  Warm  Springs  Creek  for  the  night.  From  which  place  we 
would  start  for  French  Gulch  the  next  morning.  Irwin  and  I  started  for 
the  Sprmgs  not  long  after  dinner.  When  near  Race  Track  Creek,  Major 
Clark  overtook  us  and  rode  in  our  company  to  the  camp.  He  soon  noticed 
my  horse.  He  was  riding  a  very  pretty  black  mare,  good  enough  with  the 
exception  of  size.     All  at  once  he  said : 

"Al,  how  do  you  like  my  horse?" 

"She  is  a  dandy.  Major,"  I  replied. 

"How  would  you  like  to  trade?"  he  then  asked. 

I  told  him  that  the  one  I  had  suited  me  very  nicely  indeed.  Not 
long  after  he  again  wanted  to  make  the  trade.  I  replied  to  this  that  my 
horse  was  all  right  and  that  no  one  could  tell  when  he  might  need  a 
good  one,  especially  when  after  Indians.  He  did  not  insist,  so  I  retained 
my  mount.  I  have  many  times,  in  the  years  gone  by,  thought  of  this  affair. 
Here  was  Major  Clark,  commander  of  the  Volunteers,  who  wanted  a 
horse,  one  for  which  he  was  responsible  to  the  owner;  one  that  he  could 
have  taken  had  he  made  up  his  mind  to  that  effect;  yet,  because  he  could 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  31 

not  trade  fair,  he  allowed  a  mere  slip  of  a  kid  to  keep  it.  We  did  not 
pass  any  too  pleasant  a  time  at  Warm  Springs  that  night,  as  it  was  a  litde 
bit  inclined  to  rain.  Irwin  and  I  had  made  some  kind  of  a  shack  out 
of  some  boards,  in  which  to  sleep.  In  the  morning,  before  we  rolled  out,  I 
heard  Billy  Forbis  say:  "I  bet  you  that  your  man  can't  outrun  Al 
Noyes  sixty  yards."  Billy  came  to  us  and  asked  if  I  would  run  a  foot 
race.  "Of  course  I  would."  To  make  a  long  story  short,  I  went  up 
against  a  professional  and  didn't  get  there  soon  enough  to  save  my 
backer's  money.  As  we  were  up  early  we  soon  pulled  for  French  Gulch 
in  a  rain  storm,  where  we  were  to  spend  the  night. 

It  was  but  a  straggling  band  of  men  that  rode  from  the  Springs  to 
French  Gulch  that  day,  no  attempt  to  keep  order.  Captain  James  Talbot, 
John  Downs  and  I  were  at  the  head  of  the  column  and,  of  course,  the 
first  into  French  Gulch.  Talbot  and  Downs  wanted  a  drink  of  whisky  on 
account  of  the  cold.  Talbot  remarked:  "It  won't  do  to  allow  the  boys 
all  the  whisky  they  want,  so  I  will  order  the  saloon  keeper  not  to  let 
them  have  more  than  one  each."  This  was  agreed  to  by  Downs.  As 
soon  as  we  got  to  town,  they  got  their  drink  and  the  Frenchman  got  his 
orders.  "Do  not  give  more  than  one  drink  to  any  one  man.  Do  you 
understand?"  The  boys  kept  straggling  in  until  dark,  each  one  to  get 
his  one  drink.  No  more!  I  never  could  tell  just  what  did  happen;  either 
those  boys  got  more  than  one  drink,  or  the  poison  was  intense,  as  many  a 
one  was  pretty  noisy  before  midnight.  Guards  were  out  with  the  horses. 
A  beef  was  killed  in  the  streets,  and  the  men  proceeded  to  get  their  supper 
on  the  end  of  a  sharp  stick  and  cook  before  a  big  camp  fire.  We  rolled 
in  any  old  place,  with  orders  to  move  at  daybreak.  When  the  day  did 
break  it  was  to  be  one  of  disappointment.  Jake  Hootman  had  arrived 
about  2  o'clock  with  word  from  Gen.  Sherman,  who  was  at  Fort  Ellis, 
to  the  effect  that  the  government  did  not  need  the  Volunteers,  and  that 
we  were  to  return  home.  I  have  learned  since  that  there  was  some  misun- 
derstanding about  that  Sherman  message;  some  misconstruction  placed  on  it. 
However  that  may  have  been,  we  were  to  go  home.  Major  Clark  ordered 
Mell  Lowery,  a  lieutenant,  with  several  men,  to  form  a  scouting  party,  go 
to  the  Big  Hole  and  look  the  ground  over  for  Indians.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber the  men  he  chose,  nor  does  he  at  this  date.  W.  L.  Kinnear  of  Bonner, 
Idaho,  was  one  of  them.  As  we  could  go  to  Butte  via  German  Gulch, 
several  of  us  went  that  way.  I  recall  John  Noyes  and  a  Mr.  Jones,  one 
of  the  owners  of  the  La  Platta  Lode,  and  I  were  together.  Noyes  was 
an  old  Indian  fighter  and  described  several  of  the  fights  he  was  in.  He 
said  that  no  one  could  tell  what  was  in  him  until  he  was  actually  in 
battle. 

We  arrived  in  Butte  early  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  probably  6 
o'clock  when  I  met  W.  A.  Clark  on  the  street.  He  told  mc  that  we 
were  ordered  to  Deer  Lodge  valley,  to  our  old  camp  at  Warm  Springs 
Creek,  by  Governor  Potts.  "You  tell  all  iho  boys  you  see  and  start  to- 
night for  the  Springs.     You  need  not  go  clear  through  until  morning.     You 


32  THE   STORY  OF  "'AJAX" 

can  camp  in  the  first  hay  stack  you  come  to,"  was  the  Major's  order. 
Will  Forbis,  Fred  Lober,  an  Irish  miner,  name  now  forgotten,  and 
myself  left  Butte  about  7  p.  m.  The  Irishman  was  a  big  man,  entirely 
out  of  his  element  on  horseback.  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  this 
Indian  war,  anyway.  He  replied:  "If  it  does  nothing  else,  it  will  make 
damned  good  riders  of  all  them  that  is  left  of  us."  When  we  arrived  at 
the  Hump  we  turned  our  horses  into  the  corral,  at  once  dug  a  hole  in  a 
haystack  and  went  to  sleep.  I  awoke  early  and  looked  for  my  horse,  all 
the  others  were  in  sight.  The  stable  door  was  open,  but  as  it  was  too 
dark  to  see  anything  without  a  light,  I  took  it  for  granted  that  he  was  all 
right.  I  took  another  nap.  At  daylight  we  were  all  up  ready  to  saddle 
and  tiit  the  trail.  My  horse  did  not  show  up.  I  went  into  the  house  and 
lying  down  under  the  stairway  soon  fell  asleep,  to  be  awakened  by  some 
one,  who  proved  to  be  Major  Clark,  who  said:  "What  are  you  doing 
here?  I  thought  I  ordered  you  to  Warm  Springs?"  I  soon  explained,  in 
language  not  proper  to  record  here,  that  some  one  had  stolen  my  horse. 
The  Major  laughed  and  said:  "Put  your  saddle  on  the  coach  when  it 
comes  along  and  we  will  try  and  find  him  for  you."  When  the  coach 
arrived  at  the  Springs,  Jim  Talbot  came  up  and  asked  me  if  I  had  lost 
my  horse.  Wanting  a  description  of  it,  etc.  As  he  was  my  captain,  he 
took  great  interest  in  my  welfare  and  was  very  anxious  to  help  me.  It 
was  only  a  short  time  before  Jim  came  back  and  told  me  there  was  an 
animal  answering  the  description;  to  come  and  see.  It  proved  to  be  mine. 
Several  years  after  I  met  Jim  on  Main  street,  Butte.  He  stopped 
me  and  said:  "Did  you  ever  find  out  who  stole  your  horse  during  the 
Nez  Perce  war?"  "No,"  I  replied.  "Well,  AI,  if  you  won't  get  mad, 
I  will  tell  you."  "It  is  too  late  now  to  feel  sore  over  it,  so  spit  it  out," 
I  said.  "I  did  it.  My  horse  got  lame,  and  finding  yours  in  the  corral, 
I  rode  him  down  to  the  Springs,"  he  said.  I  asked  him  why  he  didn't 
tell  me  before,  to  which  he  replied  :  "To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  afraid ; 
you  were  too  mad."  WTiat  had  we  been  ordered  to  Warm  Springs  for? 
Hadn't  Gen.  Sherman  sent  word  to  head  us  off  and  send  us  home?  It 
was  not  long  before  these  questions  were  answered.  Governor  Potts 
wanted  to  thank  us  for  responding  so  heartily  to  the  call  of  duty;  that  he 
was  exceedingly  sorry  that  such  a  splendid  body  of  men  could  not  go 
forward  and  wipe  out  the  Indians,  but  a  higher  power  had  decreed  other- 
wise. "I  want  to  say  to  you  that  if  Montana  ever  needs  your  assistance 
at  any  future  time,  I  would  consider  it  a  great  honor  to  be  your  leader." 
It  was  for  that  reason  we  had  ridden  in  hot  haste  to  the  rendezvous — 
and  made  a  horse  thief,  for  the  time  being,  of  Jim  Talbot.  It  was  that 
the  brave(?)  boys  of  Butte  were  to  listen  to  the  personal  thanks  of 
the  territorial  governor.  Major  Clark  gave  me  some  dispatch  to  carry  to 
Butte,  so  I  lode  on  ahead  of  the  troop,  which  disbanded  soon  after  its 
arrival.  We  went  about  our  work  for  a  few  days.  Lowery  and  men 
were  back,  reporting  "No  Indians!" 


o 

00  r 

o  t^ 
2o 

<o 

m  o 

X 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  33 

Then  came  the  news  that  Gen.  Gibbon  had  had  a  fight  with  Joseph, 
at  the  Big  Hole.  "Come  at  once;  fetch  all  the  doctors  and  ambulances 
you  can;  many  killed  and  wounded."     Clark  made  a  call  for  volunteers. 

Many  said:     "To  h 1  with  the  war.     We  went  once  and  were  ordered 

back;  we  won't  go  again."  Only  42  responded  to  that  call,  though 
history  mentions  56.  The  following  is  the  list  of  those  who  went  to  the 
rescue,   August    12th,    1877: 

W.  A.  Clark,  major;  J.  A.  Talbot,  Captain;  Mell  Lowery,  lieu- 
tenant; Peter  McDermott,  F.  H.  Ramsdell,  Tom  Rea.  Richard  Jones, 
Jas.  Irvin,  I.  B.  Thomas,  Geo.  W.  Mooney,  Geo.  H.  Stoner,  Dennis 
Simpson,  "Brick"  Van  Walter,  Wm.  Woodward,  Chas.  B.  Finn,  A.  W. 
Camp,  Sam  M.  Johnson,  J.  K.  Bradley,  David  Jones,  A.  J.  Noyes,  Jas. 
B.  Prowse,  Jno.  Dolas,  Mason  Warren,  Peter  Sherr,  Thos.  Mitchell, 
Jno.  G.  Keith,  Frank  Rodgers,  Ed  Hickey,  Simon  Hauswirth,  Robert 
Hausvvirth,  James  Widner,  A.  J.  Grubb,  G.  S.  Harrison,  A.  W.  Barnard, 
Richard  Pue,  Ben  Venor,  Pat  boley,  W.  H.  Archer,  S.  P.  Alexander, 
N.  L.  Turner,  E.  W.  Sigsbee,  James  Johnson,  Era  Alderman,  W.  L. 
Kinnear,  Pat  Tallent,  Robt.  Simons,  Pat  Whalen,  B.  C.  Benson,  J.  C. 
McUnn,  Henry  Suprenant,  Wm.  Sinsill,  Addison  Smith,  C.  E.  Humph- 
reys, Jno.  C.  Belk,  Dr.  Wheelock,  Dr.  O.  B.  Whitford. 

Ed  King,  who  owned  a  brick  yard  in  those  days,  in  Butte,  had  a 
span  of  horses  and  concord  wagon,  which  he  turned  over  to  Frank 
Ramsdell  and  I.  This  was  the  same  young  man  who  gave  the  Alice 
mine  to  his  lady  love.  Miss  Emma  Butcher — then  failed  to  get  her. 
That  night  we  were  in  French  Gulch.  Up  early  the  next  morning,  we  had 
an  early  dinner  on  the  Big  Hole,  at  Shinerock.  We  met  Gen.  Gibbon 
and  his  wounded  at  the  point  of  the  "hog-back"  between  the  north  and 
south  forks  of  the  Big  Hole,  on  land  afterward  taken  up  by  Geo.  Wad- 
dell.  You  remember  that  the  general  had  a  slight  wound  in  the  thigh, 
being  among  the  first  to  receive  a  bullet  in  the  engagement.  He  was  sit- 
ting by  a  bunch  of  willows  when  Major  Clark  and  I  walked  up  to  see 
him.  Clark  introduced  himself  and  said:  "You  had  a  hard  fight,  Gen- 
eral." "I  tell  you.  Major  Clark,  that  we  hadn't  been  in  that  fight  but  a 
short  time  when  I  thought  it  would  be  another  Custer  massacre,  and  to  tell 
the  truth  there  is  only  one  reason,  in  my  mind,  why  it  was  not.  When 
we  left  Missoula  we  had  trowel  bayonets  issued  to  us;  these  were  used, 
with  which  to  dig  holes  into  which  we  got  for  protection.  If  it  hadn't 
been  for  them,  none  of  us,  in  my  opinion,  would  have  lived  to  tell  the  tale." 
(I  would  like  to  know  if  Clark  remembers  these  words  of  Gibbon.) 

Gen.  Gibbon  and  son-in-law  were  furnished  a  team  and  buggy  and 
left  at  once  for  Deer  Lodge.  Capt.  Rawn  was  left  in  command. 
WTiile  Gibbon  and  Clark  were  talking,  the  wounded  men  were 
trailing  into  the  bottom  land  from  the  "hog-back."  Some  were  in  the 
wagons  belonging  to  Hugh  Kirkendall,  who  had  been  with  the  troops 
since  they  began  to  march.  Others  were  being  hauled  on  travois — poles, 
one  end  of   which   were   hitched   to   a   horse,   the  other   dragging  on   the 


34  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

ground.  A  blanket  was  fastened  between  the  poles,  on  which  the  wounded 
man  lay.  This  device  was  one  used  to  a  considerable  extent  when  noth- 
ing better  was  to  be  had.  It  was  supposed  to  be  as  near  comfort  as  pos- 
sible, but  when  you  take  into  consideration  that  this  country  had  quite  a 
lot  of  high  sage  brush  which  would  make  the  going  rough,  it  was  anything 
but  pleasant.  The  poor  fellows  in  the  travois  were  glad  to  meet  the 
wagons    for    their    transportation. 

When  we  left  Butte,  Gen.  C.  S.  Warren  gave  his  brother.  Mace,  a 
bottle  of  whisky,  saying:  "Give  that  to  Lieut.  Woodruff  with  my 
compliments."  Mace  made  enquiry  for  the  gentleman  and  found  him 
in  one  of  the  freight  wagons.  He  introduced  himself  as  a  brother  of 
Warren  and  presented  the  whisky.  The  lieutenant  looked  at  the  kid  and 
said:  "Where  are  you  going,  Warren?"  "I  am  going  after  those 
Indians,"  was  the  reply.  "That  is  all  right,"  replied  Woodruff,  "but  I 
want  to  give  you  a  little  advice;  don't  try  to  sharp-shoot  with  them,  for 
they  are  the  best  shots  I  ever  saw,  and  I  have  had  some  experience,  as  I 
can  prove  to  you."  With  that  he  unbuttoned  his  shirt  and  showed  us  the 
scars  of  three  bullet  holes  received  in  the  rebellion.  These  three  scars 
could  be  covered  with  the  palm  of  the  hand. 

This  was  my  first  experience  with  wounded  men;  33  of  them,  more 
or  less  injured,  some  of  whom  died  soon  after.  We  learned  that  all 
of  Gibbon's  soldiers  who  wanted  to,  had  gone  in  with  Howard.  General 
Howard  has  been  maligned  for  his  inability  to  catch  up  with  this  Indian 
chief.  Many,  who  have  been  loudest  in  denunciation,  are  wholly  ignor- 
ant of  the  conditions  and  would  have  given  up  long  before  and  returned 
to  Walla  Walla.  Howard  arrived  on  the  battlefield  soon  after  it  was  over 
and  was,  no  doubt,  the  direct  cause  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  as  the 
Indians  had  learned  of  his  proximity.  He  remained  one  day  at  the  scene, 
helping  the  wounded  and  burying  the  dead.  He  then  took  up  the  trail  of 
Joseph,  who  had  gone  toward  the  Horse  Prairie.  Joseph's  first  camp 
was  on  the  Big  Lake  Creek,  on  land  afterwards  partly  owned  by  me.  I 
have  seen  it  many  times. 

Major  Clark  asked  for  volunteers  to  go  with  him  and  overtake 
Howard,  as  Stuart's  company  from  Deer  Lodge  was  going  also.  It  is 
my  opinion  that  no  one  who  had  a  horse  refused  to  go.  After  waiting 
for  a  short  time  to  give  the  wounded  a  rest,  we  pulled  down  the  main  fork 
four  or  five  miles  to  Doolittle  Creek,  where  we  went  into  camp  for  the 
night.  This  was  early  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  wounded  needed 
attention.  Frank  and  I  had  a  sergeant,  Watson  by  name,  who  was 
shot  through  the  hips,  also  calf  of  one  leg.  The  wagon  next  behind  us 
carried  Lieut.  Wm.  English.  (Both  of  these  men  died  soon  after  we 
reached  Deer  Lodge;  the  only  ones  to  die  after  leaving  the  battleground.) 
We  camped  the  second  night  on  Seymour  Creek;  the  third  on  Mill 
or  Brundy.  The  fourth  day,  just  before  noon,  the  wife  of  Lieut.  English 
met  us.  She  had  not  been  long  a  wife.  Her's  must  have  been  a  stout 
heart,  or  she  had  been  told  to  be  very  cheerful  on  her  husband's  account. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  35 

She  climbed  into  the  wagon,  saying,  in  a  cheerful  voice:  "How  are 
you,  Willie?"  She  stayed  with  him  through  the  balance  oi  that  ride 
to  town.  The  people  of  Deer  Lodge  had  improvised  a  hospital  in  a  vacant 
building  for  most  of  the  wounded.  Watson  and  English  were  taken  to  the 
Sisters.  After  having  partaken  of  a  very  nice  meal,  furnished  by  the 
ladies,  we  went  to  the  Ramsdell  ranch,  1 0  miles  north  of  Deer  Lodge, 
as  Frank  had  promised  me  a  saddle  horse  for  further  pursuit  of  Joseph. 
The  one  he  gave  me  was  small,  and  somewhat  lame,  with  greased  heels. 
I  arrived  in  Butte  the  next  afternoon;  did  not  take  time  to  go  home, 
but  finding  a  man  who  was  willing  to  go  with  me,  we  started  for  Divide 
Creek  20  miles  distant.  This  was  John  Councilman,  a  brother-in-law 
to  Cris  Nesler.  About  1 0  we  picketed  our  horses  and  went  to  sleep. 
We  got  up  early  the  next  morning,  in  fact  we  had  no  particular 
reason  for  staying  in  bed,  as  all  we  had  was  our  saddle  blankets,  and 
mine  was  full  of  holes,  and  went  to  John  McKenzie's  ranch,  where  we 
asked  for  breakfast.  John  had  just  gone  to  the  stable  when  we  got  there. 
I  explained  that  we  were  not  possessed  of  money,  but  did  have  a  craving 
for  something  to  eat.  He  made  a  little  kick,  because  so  many  were 
coming  along  with  the  same  excuse,  but  gave  us  a  good  breakfast.  After 
breakfast  we  again  started  on  our  journey.  Some  three  or  four  miles  were 
gone  over  when  we  met  the  stage.  On  the  seat,  with  the  driver,  was  W. 
A.  Clark. 

He  had  the  driver  stop  and  said:  "Hello,  Al,  where  are  you  go- 
ing?" "After  Indians."  He  began  to  laugh  and  said:  "I  guess  you  had 
better  go  home,  as  the  Indian  war  is  over,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned.  We 
overtook  Gen.  Howard  on  Horse  Prairie,  camped  one  night  with  him  and 
were  pulling  out  independently  the  next  morning,  when  he  informed  us  we 
were  under  him  if  we  went  to  the  front.  I  explained  that  I  was  independ- 
ent— under  no  one.  He  replied  that  I  must  go  with  him  or  go  back,  so 
we  left  his  command  and  started  for  Butte.  You  will  soon  meet  the  boys 
as  they  are  but  a  short  distance  behind."  The  boys  soon  came  up  and 
we  took  the  trail  for  Butte,  where  we  arrived  about  noon.  I  had 
ridden  576  miles,  had  not  seen  an  Indian,  dead  or  alive;  had 
lost  a  business  from  which  I  had  been  making  some  money.  The 
experience  may  have  been  worth  something.  Why  in  the  name  of 
common  sense  I  had  continued  to  follow  Indians,  when  they  must  have 
been  200  miles  away,  and  on  a  lame  horse,  without  money,  I  do  not 
know,  unless  it  was  youthful  foolishness.  None  of  the  Butte  boys  got  in 
a  fight  with  them. 

I  want  to  go  on  record,  so  my  children  and  grandchildren  may 
know,  that  no  bullet  of  mine  struck  to  earth  a  Nez  Perce.  When  Lewis 
and  Clark  made  their  memorable  trip  across  the  mountains,  they  found 
those  Indians  friendly.  All  other  generations  since,  until  77,  had  found 
them  so.  The  white  man,  as  usual,  wanted  their  land,  and  had  made  a  treaty 
with  some  of  them,  but  not  with  Joseph's  father,  who  was  known  as  a 
non-treaty  Indian.      Ere  Columbus  had  set  sail   for  China  or  India,  these 


36  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

people  had  lived  in  their  beautiful  valley  by  the  flowing  water.  Their 
dead  had  been  placed  in  consecrated  ground,  which  had  been  watered 
by  the  tears  of  loved  ones.  No  other  sun  ever  shone  as  bright  as  did  this 
of  theirs.  They  may  have  been  savages,  but  they  were  men,  as  Gibbon 
found  to  his  cost,  as  he  was  whipped  on  the  banks  of  the  Ruby.  They 
were  never  untrue  to  their  fathers  or  their  traditions,  as  is  evinced  by  their 
having  taken  the  war  path.  No  party  of  men,  since  the  world  began,  ever 
put  up  a  more  glorious  effort  for  independence  than  did  the  red  men 
of  the  Vale  of  Willowa.  Col.  Dodge,  who  probably  knew  as  much 
about  the  American  Indian  as  any  one,  claims  that  Joseph  was  one  of 
the  greatest  generals  of  the  world. 

General  Gibbon  said  to  General  Howard  on  the  battlefield:  "Who 
could  have  believed  that  those  Indians  would  have  rallied  after  such  a 
surprise,  and  made  such  a  fight!"  Howard  said  of  Joseph:  "Few  mili- 
tary commanders,  with  good  troops,  could  have  recovered  after  so  fearful 
a  surprise."  Also:  "At  Camas  Meadows,  not  far  from  Henry's  Lake, 
Joseph's  night  march,  his  surprise  of  my  camp  and  capture  of  over  a 
hundred  head  of  animals,  and  after  a  slight  battle,  making  a  successful 
escape,  showed  an  ability  to  plan  and  execute  equal  to  many  a  partisan 
leader  whose  deeds  have  entered  into  classic  story.  And  even  at  last, 
the  natural  resources  of  his  mind  did  not  fail  him.  Broken  in  pieces  by 
Miles'  furious  and  unexpected  assault,  burdened  with  his  women,  chil- 
dren and  plunder,  suffering  the  loss  of  his  still  numerous  though  badly 
crippled  herd  of  ponies,  yet  he  was  able  to  retreat  and  hold  out  for 
several  days  against  twice  his  numbers,  and  succeeded  in  pushing  out 
beyond  the  white  man's  pickets  a  part  of  his  people  to  join  allies  in 
Canada." 

The  most  beautiful  tribute  to  this  man,  Indian  that  he  was,  is  the 
following  from  the  pen  of  Judge  C.  C.  Goodwin,  Sept.   24th,    1904; 

"Chief  Joseph — So  Chief  Joseph  has  gone  over  the  range.  His 
translation  was  instantaneous.  One  moment  he  was  sitting  by  his  camp- 
fire  dreaming  of  the  kingdom  which  had  been  taken  away  from  him,  the 
next  he  was  in  the  happy  hunting  grounds  on  that  reservation  which  the 
pale  faces  can  never  steal  or  partition.  A  great  old  soul  was  Joseph.  He 
was  to  his  people  what  Hannibal  was  to  the  Carthaginians,  he  was  a 
born  general;  he  knew  how  to  set  his  men  in  array  for  battle;  he  had  the 
rare  gift  of  making  a  fighting  retreat  which  was  every  day  a  victory,  and 
which  would  have  been  a  final  success  had  it  been  before  the  day  of 
telegraph  and  heliograph,  those  inventions  which  the  untutored  savage 
could  not  anticipate  or  prepare  a  defense  against. 

"The  retreat  of  Kuropatkin  from  Liao  Yang  will  go  down  in  his- 
tory as  a  marvelous  military  achievement.  In  some  respects  it  does  not 
compare  with  the  retreat  made  by  Chief  Joseph,  through  a  pathless  waste 
of  rugged  mountains,  encumbered  as  he  was  with  his  wounded  and  the 
women  and  children  of  his  tribe.  For  three  months  the  running  fight 
went  on  which  covered    1500   miles,  with  relays  of  soldiers  hot  in  the 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  37 

chase  until  forty  companies  were  in  all  engaged,  and  he  would  have 
finally  triumphed  had  not,  to  him,  unknown  sentinels  given  his  where- 
abouts away.  It  was  a  most  masterful  achievement,  and  it  gave  him  a 
place  in  history  at  the  side  of,  if  not  at  the  head  of  those  indomitable 
fighters.  King  Phillip,  Pontiac,  Tecumseh  and  others  who  one  by 
one,  made  their  stand  not  only  against  irresistible  forces,  but  against  fate 
itself.  It  had  to  be.  The  continent  could  not  be  left  to  savagery;  the 
weaker  race  had  to  go  to  the  wall,  but  in  the  long  drawn-out  tragedy  of 
300  years  there  are  repeated  pictures  so  tinged  with  pathos  and  sorrow 
that  they  darken  the  whole  somber  history.  One  of  the  last  of  those 
pictures  was  that  of  Chief  Joseph.  As  time  grows  on,  it  wili  grow  in 
stature  as  it  shines  out  of  the  frame  in  which  it  is  swung  in  the  gallery  of 
ages.  It  will  be  an  everlasting  challenge  to  the  schools  to  present  a  braver 
or  more  self-contained  hero,  or  one  with  more  native  genius  or  more  ten- 
acity of  purpose. 

"If,  above,  a  more  careful  record  is  kept,  if  there  all  the  dross  of 
the  earth  is  eliminated  and  those  sublimated  souls  meet  and  greet  each 
other,  a  great  reception  was  given  Joseph  on  his  coming.  Those  who  on 
earth  were  the  proudest  and  haughtiest  thronged  around  the  entrance 
gate  to  receive  him  and  to  make  obedience  to  his  valorous  soul,  as  to  one 
as  brave  as  the  best — ^at  once  a  patriot,  a  hero,  a  shepherd  of  his  people, 
a  born  king.  The  Northwest  should  set  up  a  rude  stone  on  some  highland 
overlooking  the  Willowa  Valley  and  inscribe  his  name  upon  it.  Whatever 
wrongs  he  committed  he  and  his  suffered  greater  ones.  He  was  never 
blood-thirsty;  he  never  struck  a  blow  except  what  he  deemed  was  self- 
defense  and  his  dauntless  soul  pleads  forgiveness  if  not  justification  for 
every  wrong  he  committed,  and  no  son  of  the  Northwest  will  ever  be  braver 
than  he,  more  true  to  native  land  than  he;  more  self-controlled  under 
terrible  dangers  than  was  he;  more  resourceful  than  he;  more  calm  under 
final  defeat  than  was  he,  and  not  many  will  have  native  sagacity  super- 
ior to  his.  In  the  great  lodge  of  the  happy  hunting  grounds  may  he  have 
the  softest  blankets,  the  most  elaborately  carved  pipe,  and  the  tallest 
plume  in  the  wickiup." 

Clark  was  running  the  old  Dexter  mill  in  those  days,  and  I  secured 
a  job  on  the  roasters.  It  so  happened  that  the  people  of  Pipe  Stone  wanted 
some  one  to  teach  their  school  that  winter.  John  Paul,  owner  of  the  Pipe 
Stone  Springs,  was  one  of  the  trustees.  He  came  to  Butte  and  requested  me 
to  take  the  position.  I  accepted  and  taught  during  the  winter.  I  hat  old 
school  house  was  on  the  side  hill  near,  or  in  fact,  on  the  site  of  White- 
hall, now  quite  a  lively  little  burg.  This  school  was  an  old-fashioned  "board- 
around"  affair.  You  got,  in  that  way.  to  get  acquainted  with  every  one 
of  the  people  who  had  an  interest.  Paul  had  throe  boys.  George,  Charles 
and  James.  7  he  Widow  Blake  two  boys,  I'.dward  and  Michaol;  two 
girls,  Rosa  and  L.izzie.  Miller  three,  Martin.  Montana,  and  the 
younger  one  not  now  remembered.  A  young  girl,  Violet  I-alkner.  and 
a     big     husky     boy,     John,     who     weighed      I'K)     pounds.         We     wore 


38  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

all  young  people  together,  and  enjoyed  life  as  we  found  it.  I  liked  to 
walk  and  would  generally  go  up  to  Parson's  Bridge,  1  1  miles,  or  Silver 
Star,  1  7  miles,  to  spend  Saturday  and  Sunday,  walking  back  Sunday 
evening.  There  were  many  young  people  living  in  the  valley  that  winter,  so 
a  dance  was  not  uncommon.  The  people  of  that  part  of  Montana  had 
gotten  together  and  erected  quite  a  large  stone  building,  to  be  used  as  a 
woolen  mill — A.  J.  Davis,  the  Butte  banker,  now  uses  it  for  a  stable. 
When  the  building  was  completed,  they  gave  a  dance,  to  which  young 
people  came  for  miles.  The  machinery  was  never  installed,  and  another 
dream  was  mere  nightmare. 

I  had  used  part  of  my  wages  in  buying  a  pinto  mare,  also  a  small 
gelding.  My  father  gave  me  a  nice  three-year-old,  but  as  I  owed  Lyman 
Kinnear  a  few  dollars,  I  made  a  trade  with  him  in  the  following  way.  I 
give  him  the  colt  for  his  account  and  a  silver  watch.  Dick  Trefry,  who 
was  running  a  butcher  shop,  had  use  for  a  watch,  and  told  me  he  had  a 
nice  saddle  mare  he  would  trade  for  it.  The  mare  would  not  be  in  evi- 
dence until  the  next  morning.  Next  morning  I  was  up  in  good  season, 
but  Dick  was  up  first.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  get 
a  beef  in  before  breakfast,  which  accounted  for  the  mare  being  warm. 
We  made  the  trade.  Taking  my  lead  horse  by  the  rope,  I  pulled  out  for 
Horse  Prairie,  riding  the  mare.  It  did  not  take  long  to  discover  why  the 
beef  was  brought  in  "before  breakfast."  The  poor  old  thing  would  stumble 
and  fall  on  level  road  she  was  so  stiff.  I  had  ridden  along  until  about 
midway  between  Silver  Star  and  Iron  Rod,  where  I  met  Bill  Hayden, 
who  was  riding  a  small  mule.  We  stopped  and  passed  the  time  of  day. 
Bill  said:  "I  see  you  have  Dick  Trefry's  little  mare;  how  would  you 
like  to  trade  for  the  mule?"  I  was  perfectly  willing  to  make  any  kind  of 
a  trade,  at  that  particular  time.  We  pulled  saddles,  changed  "horses" 
and  were  soon  going  toward  our  destinations.  There  is  a  bridge  at  Iron 
Rod  across  the  Jefferson  River.  Just  below  this  bridge  was 
the  old  mill  of  Largey  &  Dahler,  also  a  store;  about  two 
miles  back  of  this  store  was  the  mine.  When  I  got  to  the  bridge  there 
was  trouble.  Just  as  soon  as  that  mule  got  her  forefeet  on  the  bridge  she 
bolted  and  ran  back  to  the  store.  She  did  this  several  times.  Making  up 
my  mind  that  spurs  would  persuade  her,  I  went  in  and  bought  a  pair, 
in  the  meantime  askmg  the  man  in  charge,  the  distance  to  Point  of  Rocks. 
"Something  over  20  miles,"  he  replied.  "How  long  ought  it  take  me 
to  get  there?"  I  asked.  "Judging  from  the  way  you  have  been  acting 
for  the  last  hour,  you  will  never  get  there.  That  mule  isn't  a  riding  mule," 
he  said.  "Do  you  know  her?"  Know  her!  Well  I  guess  so;  she  hasn't 
done  a  thing  but  pack  grub  from  this  store  to  that  mine  for  years.  She 
don't  know  any  other  road."  Well,  here  I  was  with  a  mule  that  didn't 
know  anything  but  "straight  up,"  because  it  was  up  a  mighty  steep  hill 
to  the  Iron  Rod.  I  must  go  to  Point  of  Rocks,  the  mule  wouldn't  lead  and 
hesitated  about  crossing  the  bridge,  but  the  spurs  applied  at  the  right  time, 
changed  what  she  had  for  a  mind,  so  we  arrived  safely  on  the  other  side. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  39 

I  was  a  few  miles  south  of  Twin  Bridges  when  I  was  overtaken  by  a  man 
who  rode  with  me  to  the  Point,  where  we  stayed  all  night.  This  was  a 
soldier  from  Fort  Ellis.  He  was  looking  for  a  deserter  who  had  a  pony 
and  a  mule.  When  he  saw  me  he  thought  he  had  found  his  man,  until  he 
rode  up  close  enough  to  see  his  mistake.  The  next  morning  he  found  his 
party,  who  had  encamped  a  short  distance  from  the  Point. 

That  night  I  spent  with  Geo.  French  in  Argenta.  As  there  was 
quite  a  lot  of  snow  on  the  trail  from  Argenta  to  Bannack,  George  told 
me  I  had  better  leave  one  of  my  animals,  as  it  would  be  troublesome  get- 
ting over  with  two,  so  I  parted  then  and  there  with  my  mule  and  rode  my 
split-ear  pony  to  Hamilton's  ranch.  A  year  after  George 
wrote  to  me  at  Butte  and  wanted  to  know  what  I  was 
going  to  do  with  the  mule.  Said  she  was  killing  the  colts  on  the 
range,  and  people  did  not  take  kindly  to  such  playfulness;  said  he  could 
trade  her  for  a  small  mare  by  paying  ten  dollars.  I  wrote  to  him  to  make 
the  trade,  pay  the  $10.00  and  we  would  go  into  the  horse  business  to- 
gether. This  he  did  and  we  soon  had  several  head  of  horses  and  were  in 
a  fair  way  to  become  wealthy  when  a  disease  got  in  its  deadly  work  and 
all  died.  I  have  elaborated  on  this  horse  and  mule  trade  to  show  what 
I  got  out  of  a  nice  horse  my  father  had  presented  me — nothing. 

The  Hamiltons  had  let  a  contract  to  John  Everson  to  build  their 
first  fence,  and  I  was  soon  at  the  camp  helping  "trim  poles."  John  v>'as 
a  married  man,  had  a  wife  much  younger  than  himself.  She  was  a  good 
singer,  I  also  sang  some  in  those  days.  After  all  the  work  was  done 
we  would  get  a  hymn  book  in  the  evening  and  sing.  I  work'ed  mighty 
hard  each  day,  but,  for  all  of  that,  I  did  not  hold  my  place  but  a  short 
time.  Years  after,  my  aunt  told  me  John  was  jealous.  I  had  partly 
agreed  to  run  the  Hamilton  dairy  that  season,  but  owing  to  my  uncle's 
temper  I  did  not  do  so.  Living  near  Hamilton's  was  a  placer  mmer,  Andy 
Myers.  He  and  Alex  Cooper  had  been  partners.  Alex  had  been  killed 
by  the  Nez  Perces  the  year  before,  just  above  the  Hamilton  house,  and 
had  been  buried  by  Andy,  "Old  Man"  Howard  and  Slim,  a  Chinaman, 
in  a  coffin  made  from  part  of  a  sluice  box.  Some  time  during  the  spring 
the  people  came  to  the  conclusion  to  disinter  his  remains  and  take  them 
to  Bannack  for  burial.  We  took  the  remains  to  Bannack.  Andy  and 
I  returned  to  his  cabin  the  next  day  quite  late.  We  had  just  sat  down  to 
supper  when  "Mack,"  the  man  who  was  working  for  Hamilton  the  year 
before  and  was  with  him  when  the  Indians  came,  came  in  and  said: 
"You  ought  to  go  down  to  Ham's  at  once,  as  he  is  having  some  trouble  with 
Indians,  who  have  a  mare  in  their  possession  that  the  Nez  Perce  stole  last 
fall."  We  certainly  made  quick  work  with  the  supper,  and  taking  our  guns 
went  to  Ham's,  where  we  found  several  Indians  in  the  house,  with  whom 
the  old  man  was  arguing  about  the  marc.  They  wanted  pay  for  her.  he 
insisted  on  taking  her.  without  giving  them  anything.  I  soon  put  a  stop 
to  it  by  telling  him  to  give  them  50  pounds  of  flour.  In  this  way  he  secured 
his  properly  without  trouble.     Andy  and  I  did  some  prospecting  on  Bloody 


40  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Dick  Creek,  located  several  claims  but  never  worked  them.     Shortly  after 
this  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  go  to  Butte.     I  returned  via  Silver  Star. 

There  was  a  trail  in  those  days  through  the  hills  from  Silver  Star 
to  Butte.  That  morning,  as  I  was  getting  ready  to  go,  some  one  called 
my  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was  another  party  going,  and  that  we 
might  go  in  company.  This  was  agreeable  to  me.  I  found  the  man,  who 
asked  me  how  long  it  would  be  before  I  was  ready.  He  said  that  he 
would  go  on  ahead,  that  I  would  overtake  him  as  he  would  ride  slow.  1 
had  ridden  several  miles  and  had  not  overtaken  him.  I  did,  however,  over- 
take John  Paul,  who  was  going  to  Butte  with  a  load  of  vegetabres.  For 
some  reason  I  rode  along  in  his  company.  When  about  two  miles  up 
the  gulch  we  saw  a  man  come  out  of  a  bunch  of  bushes  and  come 
toward  us.  It  was  the  same  fellow  who  had  left  Silver  Star  ahead  of  me. 
Shortly  after  he  passed  us  on  horseback  and  I  never  saw  him  again. 
All  at  once  the  thought  struck  me  that  that  fellow  had  intended  to 
"hold  me  up,"  and  that  was  the  reason  why  he  did  not  wait  for  me  at 
Silver  Star,  and  so  start  together.  I  had  a  good  suit  of  clothes,  but  not 
a  cent  in  money,  my  "all"  had  gone  into  the  till  of  the  hotel  keeper  that 
morning. 

Soon  after  getting  home  I  rode  the  range  for  some  unbranded  young 
stock  that  had  gotten  away  from  father  the  year  before.  After  having 
done  this,  father  proposed  that  "Big  George"  Sample  and  I  should  go 
and  develop  a  quartz  claim,  belonging  to  C.  X.  Larabie,  "Little"  Bill 
McNamara  and  himself.  The  claim  was  on  Little  Pipe  Stone.  We  ac- 
cepted the  proposition  and  moved  to  the  place  and  went  to  work.  The 
shaft  was  only  40  feet  deep,  but  it  did  not  take  long  to  find  that  the 
"air"  was  bad.  George  insisted  that  I  go  to  Butte  and  get  some  one  to  take 
my  place,  as  he  did  not  consider  it  safe  for  me  to  continue  at  work.  I  re- 
ported the  condition  to  father  and  they  sent  a  man  to  take  my  place.  Father 
suggested  that  I  had  better  get  a  team  from  his  ranch — on  the  Jefferson — 
and  haul  vegetables  to  Butte,  and  sell  them,  if  I  couldn't  mine.  So  I  went  to 
the  valley  and  got  a  team;  I  had  to  go  back  via  the  mine  to  get  the  wagon. 
I  arrived  at  the  camp  about  noon,  and  as  there  was  no  one  there, 
I  proceeded  to  get  something  to  eat,  expecting  to  go  up  to  the  mine  and 
get  one  of  the  men  to  help  me  put  the  wagon  box  on.  Just  about  the 
time  I  was  through  eating  I  saw  George  Duwease,  a  miner  who  lived 
down  the  gulch,  coming  down  the  hill,  and  told  him  I  was  glad  he  came 
along,  as  it  would  save  me  a  trip  to  the  mine.  "Where  are  you  going?" 
he  asked  .  "To  Butte,"  I  replied.  "Well,  I  guess  not;  don't  you  know 
that  Sample  is  dead?"  Sample  dead!  He  was  a  big,  powerful  man,  of 
more  than  200  pounds,  healthy  as  could  be.  Now  dead!  He  had  gone  into 
the  shaft  first  that  morning  and  when  his  partner  went  down  he  found 
George  sitting.  He  complained  of  feeling  very  queer.  He  was  advised  to  go 
on  top,  which  he  attempted  to  do,  and,  when  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
surface,  let  go  and  fell  head  first  to  the  bottom,  crushing  his  skull  and  dy- 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  41 

ing  instantly.   We  took  him   at  once  to   Butte   for  burial.      It  would,   no 
doubt,  have  been  my  fate  had  George  not  objected  to  my  staying. 

When  the  vegetables  got  large  enough,  I  would  go  and  buy  a  load, 
take  them  to  Butte  and  peddle  them.  A  fellow  named  Dave  Hicks 
wanted  to  put  a  team  on  with  me  and  go  into  partnership.  I  consented 
to  this,  which  was  not  at  all  wise.  I  had  some  amusing  times  during  that 
summer.  I  remember  I  went  to  W.  A.  Clark's  house  one  day  and  Mrs. 
Clark  wanted  some  potatoes.  "Have  you  any  good  potatoes?"  she 
asked,  "the  other  day  a  young  man  sold  me  some  and  they  were  not 
good.  You  are  not  that  young  man,  are  you?"  I  did  not  have  time  to 
answer  before  I  heard  the  voice  of  Mrs.  Joaquin  Abascal,  Mr.  Clark's 
sister,  say:  "I  would  know  that  young  man  again  if  I  saw  him."  She 
came  to  the  door.  I  looked  her  in  the  eye  and  said:  "It  could  not  have 
been  me  because  I  never  saw  you  before."  She  took  a  good  look  and 
decided  I  was  not  the  person,  so  I  sold  her  another  lot  of  the  same  "spuds." 
I  shall  not  try  to  excuse  myself  in  this  matter.  No  doubt  had  Mrs. 
Abascal  kept  still  I  would  have  told  Mrs.  Clark  that  I  had  sold  her  some 
potatoes  a  few  days  before  and  if  they  had  not  proven  good  I  would 
make  them  good.. 

I  had  time  for  many  things,  and  once  in  a  while  would  write  a  few 
lines  for  some  paper  or  other.  When  coming  from  Horse  Prairie,  earlier  in 
the  season,  as  above  mentioned,  I  met  a  man  who  gave  me  quite  a  lot  of 
information (  ?)  concerning  the  expectations  of  the  Indians  of  Lemhi,  etc. 
They  were  to  meet  at  the  "Lone  Tree"  on  Horse  Prairie,  and  from  there 
go  on  the  war  path.  This  stuff  came  to  me  in  a  way  that  led  me  to 
think  there  was  more  or  less  truth  in  it.  If  it  should  prove  true,  and 
nothing  had  been  said,  I  might  be  to  blame  for  not  having  imparted  the 
news.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  wrote  the  following  article  to  the  Helena 
Herald  concerning  it: 

Horse  Prairie,  Mont.,  April   16.   1878. 
To  the  Editor  of  The  Herald: 

Thinking  it  proper  to  make  the  citizens  of  Montana  acquainted 
with  some  of  the  possibilities  of  danger  that  may  arise  this  ensuing  sum- 
mer from  the  "Noble  Reds,"  I  take  this  opportunity,  before  it  may  be- 
come too  late,  of  circulating  through  your  valuable  paper  what  I  have 
seen  and  heard.  All  Indians  in  passing  this  place  are  trying  to  obtain 
powder.  One  offered  a  fine  American  horse  for  six  or  seven  cans  of  it, 
and  another  offered  three  pair  of  gloves  for  five  cartridges.  They  are 
quite  anxious  to  obtain  ammunition  at  any  price.  They  have  been  passing 
this  place  for  a  long  time,  but  not  more  than  two  or  three  can  be  seen. 
On  last  Wednesday  evening  there  were  four  Fort  Hall  bucks  and  three 
squaws  here.  They  have  with  them  one  of  T.  H.  Hamilton's  marcs  that 
had  been  stolen  from  him  last  fall,  when  Joseph  passed  through.  I  hcse 
braves  seem  to  know  more  of  the  workings  and  machinations  of  Joseph 
than  they  care  to  tell.  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  but  what  they  were 
with  that  chief.      The  oldest  "lady"  of  the  lodge   was  at   the  house  and 


42  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

was  kind  enough  to  inform  me  that  the  Fort  Hall  Indians  were  "heep 
good."  "Fort  Lemhi  Indians  no  good;  one  month,  Lemhi  Indians  heap  cut 
white  man's  throat."  They  told  it  at  all  the  white  cabins  in  the  gulch. 
You  may  take  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  As  near  as  I  can  learn  there  are 
from  50  to  60  reds  camped  at  what  is  known  as  the  "Lone  Tree,"  four 
miles  above  Martin  Barrett's,  on  Horse  (Prairie)  Creek.  The  Indians  say 
they  have  been  from  Fort  Hall  for  two  moons;  where  they  could  have 
been  for  that  length  of  time  is  a  question.  Is  is  not  possible  that  they 
have  been  getting  the  wherewith  to  further  their  devilish  designs?  Do 
you  recollect  the  horrors  of  Minnesota?  How  the  Sioux  spread  out  over 
the  country,  only  a  few  at  a  place,  and  how,  at  a  given  hour  they  began 
their  work  of  murder  and  destroying? 

Does  not  the  actions  and  movements  of  the  Bannacks  at  the  present 
time  present  a  parallel  to  those  of  the  Sioux  in  1862?  And,  further,  it  is 
not  among  the  improbabilities  that  the  Fort  Hall  Indians  may,  before 
another  month  passes,  kill  all  the  settlers  on  this  prairie.  If  I  see  or  hear 
of  anything  I  will  try  and  keep  the  Herald  posted. 

Yours  truly, 

H.  P. 

This  article  seemed  to  be  the  cause  for  a  considerable  scare  among 
the  people  of  Beaverhead  county,  as  women  and  children  were  gathered 
in  secure  places,  for  fear  of  an  uprising.  Nothing  happened,  so  far  as 
the  Indians  were  concerned.  The  people,  however,  were  desirous  of 
finding  out  who  wrote  the  story.  I  never  claimed  the  honor  (?)  until 
Mrs.  Hamilton,  my  aunt,  several  years  after,  asked  me  if  I  knew  any- 
thing about  it,  when  I  told  her  the  particulars.  After  the 
vegetable  season  was  over,  Jared  Chase  and  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  was  much  money  in  fishing,  as  one  could  get  25 
cents  per  pound  for  them  in  Butte.  Bob  Foster  was,  at  that  time,  run- 
ning the  Race  Track  House  in  Deer  Lodge  Valley.  So  Chase  and  I 
went  there  to  fish.  Not  being  very  successful,  we  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion we  would  go  to  the  Big  Hole  Basin.  In  going  up  Mill  Creek  we 
noticed  a  very  thick  growth  of  timber.  We  were  talking 
about  it  when  I  remarked  to  Chase:  "It  won't  be  long 
before  all  this  timber  is  gone  and  these  hills  will  be  bare."  "What 
are  you  talking  about?  You  and  I  will  never  live  to  see  those  trees  used; 
you  talk  like  a  fool,"  he  replied.  "That's  all  right,"  I  said,  "but  Butte 
will  use  all  this  stuff."  I  must  admit  that  this  was  a  long  "guess"  on 
my  part,  as  we  were  30  miles  from  Butte  and  no  railroad.  Inside  of 
a  few  years  my  assertion  became  fact,  as  Anaconda  had  been  built  and 
Caplice  and  McCune  had  this  very  timber  cut  for  wood,  300,000  cords. 
I  remember  we  camped  all  night  at  French,  with  Johnnie  Seymour, 
an  old  time  miner  of  that  gulch,  for  whom  Seymour  Creek  is  named.  We 
continued  up  the  river  and  camped  on  a  little  creek  near  the  river,  since 
called  McVey.  We  saw  many  fish,  but  were  not  able  to  catch  them. 
I   had   been   in   the   valley   the  year   before,   had   seen   the   grazing   and 


THE   STORY   OF  'AJAX-  43 

meadow  lands,  which  were  very  attractive  to  any  one  with  stock.  I 
wondered  why  it  had  not  been  taken  up;  was  told  that  the  snow  fell  so 
deep  that  one  could  not  live  in  it.  Neither  of  us  thought  that  inside  of  a 
few  years  we  would  be  pioneers  of  this  valley. 

We  returned  to  Butte  and  began  to  cut  cord  wood  for  the  Clipper 
mill.  We  worked  at  this  during  the  fall.  There  was  very  little  of  in- 
terest going  on  that  winter  in  Butte.  The  next  spring  father  and  I  took 
up  some  land  in  Elk  Park,  on  Nez  Perce  Creek.  Johnnie  Beall  and  I 
put  up  a  cabin,  corral,  etc.,  intending  to  start  a  dairy.  Why  it  fell  through, 
I  do  not  know.  Early  that  summer  Maud  came  from  Minneapolis.  She 
came  up  the  Missouri  river  on  the  steamer  Benton.  D.  J.  Hennessy, 
Judge  DeWitt,  Lieut.  Francis  Woodbridge,  who  participated  in  the  Bat- 
tle of  the  Big  Hole,  were  also  passengers.  I  generally,  during  the  sum- 
mer, milked  cows.  (I  am  not  sure  but  I  think  it  was  '79  or  '80  that  I 
had  to  pay  $42.50  for  hay  and  $80  per  ton  for  bran  with  which  to  feed 
cattle,  selling  the  milk  for  50  cents  per  gallon).  During  the  summer  of 
'78  a  family  came  to  Butte  from  Iowa.  They  had,  for  a 
short  time,  a  small  house  across  the  street  from  father's.  The 
man,  C.  M.  Buck,  was  a  contractor  and  builder.  There  were  several 
children  in  the  family;  two  of  them,  Minnie  and  Hattie  (13  years  old), 
came  over  one  day  to  see  my  step-sister,  Jennie  Hubbard.  I  would  have 
been  very  much  surprised  had  any  one  intimated  that  this  little  girl  would 
one  day  be  my  wife. 

The  summer  and  fall  of  '80  was  spent  in  the  Elk  Park  ranch.  Jim 
Prowse,  Lyman  Kinnear  and  I  had  the  place.  I  remember  that 
Lyman  and  I  got  out  a  whole  lot  of  timber  for  fencing.  After  haying  I 
sold  my  interest  to  my  uncle,  W.  B.  Stanchfield.  I  was  to  take  the 
money,  go  to  the  University  of  Iowa  and  enter  the  Law  Department.  (R. 
B.  Hassell  had  been  the  principal  in  the  Butte  schools  and  I  had  attended 
for  some  time  during  the  winter).  My  uncle  was  to  give  me  $250.00  the 
first  year,  the  same  amount  for  the  second.  Before  going  to  Iowa  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  take  a  team  and  make  the  trip  throueh  the  National 
Park.  My  object  in  so  doing  was  to  get  data  for  a  lecture,  providing 
my  cash  should  not  hold  out.  I  thought  that  I  could  deliver  a  lecture  on 
the  wonders  of  that  place  and  probably  make  a  few  dollars,  as  it  was  then 
so  little  known.  I  took  a  team,  one  of  the  horses  belonged  to  my  step-mother, 
and  began  my  journey  alone.  On  my  arrival  at  Bozeman  I  met  several  of 
the  Butte  boys.  John  Reed,  of  the  Inter-Mountain;  Jim  Forbis,  Tom 
Wampler,  etc.,  ten  of  them  in  all.  They  liad  just  been  through  the  park 
and  were  on  their  way  home.  I  could  not  get  any  of  them  to  go  back 
with  me.  I  got  my  dinner  that  day  with  Geo.  Wakefield,  who  was  then  run- 
ning the  Northern  Pacific  Hotel.  Mrs.  Wakefield  was  a  schoolmate  of 
mother's.  I  met  a  kid.  Link  Coberly,  who  had  l>een  pretty  near  the  Park 
but  had  not  been  in  it.  I  proposed  that  he  go  with  me.  He  said:  " ." 
the  money  I  have  is  five  dollars;  that  won't  lake  mc  very  far  toward  the 
Park."      I  informed  him  that  he  didn't  need  any,  I  would  put  up.      He 


44  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

consented  to  go.  We  camped  out  on  Bear  Creek,  1 0  miles  from  Boze- 
man  that  night,  and  the  next  we  were  at  Bottler  Bros.,  on  the  Yellow- 
stone. We  picketed  our  horses  a  short  distance  from  camp.  We  were 
up  early  the  next  morning.  Requesting  Link  to  get  the  horses,  I  proceeded 
to  get  breakfast.  He  had  been  gone  but  a  short  time  when  he  came  hurry- 
ing back  with  the  information  that  one  of  the  horses  was  cast,  and  "his 
head  was  as  big  as  a  barrel!"  On  making  an  examination  I  found  that  he 
had,  in  some  way,  gotten  one  of  his  hind  feet  in  the  rope  which  was  around 
his  neck,  and  in  struggling  to  get  up,  had  choked  himself,  more  or  less, 
also  bruising  his  head.  This  was  a  nice  state  of  affairs.  A  horse  that 
could  not  be  used;  miles  from  home,  and  anxious  to  make  the  trip.  What 
could  I  do?  I  went  to  Bottler  and  explained  my  condition.  He  said: 
"I  have  a  horse  that  you  can  have  as  soon  as  he  comes  back  from  the 
Park,  which  should  be  soon  now."  I  had  to  be  contented  and  wait  for 
"Old  Bozeman,"  as  the  horse  was  called,  for  several  days.  At  last  he 
came  and  we  made  a  new  start.  It  did  not  require  a  long  time  to  go, 
from  this  ranch,  to  Mammoth  Springs.  On  arriving  there  I  met  Mrs. 
Carson  (mother  of  Arthur  of  the  North  Butte),  also  Mrs.  Ed  Reimel 
of  Walkerville,  who  invited  me  to  have  lunch  v^ith  them,  which  was  ac- 
cepted with  pleasure  and  much  enjo3'ed. 

When  I  got  back  to  camp  I  found  a  young  man,  who  desired  to 
make  one  of  our  company,  a  Geo.  Allen  of  the  Yellowstone.  We  left 
the  wagon  at  the  Springs  and  began  our  trip  through  the  Park.  We 
went  via  Tower  Falls  to  the  Grand  Canyon,  Great  Fall,  Sulphur  Moun- 
tain, Mud  Volcano,  thence  to  Mary's  Lake,  to  the  Lower  Geyser  Basin. 
We  did  not  go  to  Yellowstone  Lake.  We  enjoyed  the  scenery  very 
much.  The  weather  was  delightful.  When  we  arrived  at  Midway,  or 
"Hell's  Half  Acre,"  we  crossed  the  Fire  Hole  river  to  investigate  the 
Prismatic  Spring  and  the  Caldron,  or  what  was  afterward  called  "Sheri- 
dan Geyser."  This  is  a  large  body  of  boiling  water,  over  100  feet 
across,  and  when  not  in  a  state  of  eruption,  is  some  1  0  to  more  feet  below 
the  surface.  Steam  arises  all  the  time,  as  from  a  great  kettle  of  boiling 
water.  Wishing  to  see  more  of  this  wonderful  spring,  I  carefully  walked 
toward  it  and  stopped  in  awe  at  the  fearful  sight  that  met  my  gaze  when 
a  light  breeze  wafted  the  steam  from  me,  as  I  was  at  the  brink  of  that 
hellish  hole.      One  more  careless  step  and — the  end. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  Upper  Basin,  we  found  ourselves  pretty 
short  of  provisions.  The  boys  were  successful  in  getting  a  nice  lot  of  fool 
hens,  with  sticks,  but  as  we  had  no  grease  in  which  to  fry  them  we  began 
to  rustle.  Link  found,  in  a  tree,  a  can  of  bacon  grease  that  had  been 
left  by  the  former  camper.     As  this  was  nice  and  fresh,  we  made  use  of  it. 

We  returned  to  the  Springs  via  Norris  Geyser  Basin.  At  that  place 
Col.  Norris  had  a  party  of  men  at  work  on  the  roads.  Link  got  some 
brown  sugar  of  them,  which,  under  the  circumstances,  was  the  nicest  ever. 
The  next  day  we  arrived  at  the  Springs,  and  got  as  good  a  meal  as 
McCartney's  Hotel  could  set  up.      We  purchased  a   few  supplies,   and 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  45 

started  down  the  river.  "When  on  my  way  up  to  the  Mammoth  Springs 
I  made  arrangements  with  a  party  to  catch  some  fish  for  me.  When 
I  returned  to  the  place  the  man  had  a  nice  supply,  which  I  hauled  to 
Butte  and  sold  them  for  25  cents  per  lb.  When  I  got  back  to  Bottler's 
I  found  that  my  horse  was  in  no  condition  to  take  me  home.  Wm.  Lee 
had  a  large  number  of  horses,  so  I  went  to  his  ranch  and  bought  a  pony 
for  $40.00,  leaving  my  horse  in  his  care.  Link  and  I  arrived  in  Butte 
in  good  season.  Owing  to  the  inroads  on  my  cash,  I  did  not  have 
enough  to  carry  me  through  the  first  year  at  Iowa  City,  so  I  did  not  study 
law.  There  must  have  been  something  of  a  Providencial  nature  in  this, 
as  we  have  too  many  poor  lawyers  now.  If  I  am  not  mistaken — I  am 
writing  this  from  memory  and  may  make  errors — that  fall  Mrs.  Pierce 
and  Miss  Nellie  came  to  Butte  from  St.  Louis.  Miss  Nellie  wanted  a 
school.  A  teachers'  examination  was  held  in  Hassell's  room;  C.  K. 
Hardenbrook  was  at  that  time  county  superintendent  of  Deer  Lodge 
county. 

I  made  an  application  for  the  school  at  Travonia;  my  application 
met  with  much  opposition  by  several  of  the  patrons,  and  it  did  not  appear 
that  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  secure  it.  I  recall  that  Henry  Mc- 
Murphy  and  Henry  Jacobs  were  two  of  the  trustees.  I  had  almost  given 
up  when  Hassell  persuaded  me  to  try  for  the  examination  anyway.  I 
do  not  remember  all  who  took  the  examination  at  that  date,  but  Nellie 
Pierce,  Addison  Dingley  and  I  did.  I  was  successful  in  passing,  so  got 
the  school.  Dingley  taught  in  old  Silver  Bow;  Miss  Pierce  in  the  old 
Good  Templar  hall.  That  winter  was  an  enjoyable  one,  as  many  of  the 
boys  gathered  almost  every  evening  at  the  Pierce  home.  We  gave 
"Toodles,"  which  was  received  by  the  audience  without  any  great  dis- 
tribution of  discarded  vegetables  or  unsalable  hen  fruit.  There  was  much 
to  keep  one  busy  in  Butte  in  those  days.  So  taken  all  in  all,  I  can  hardly 
recall  a  more  enjoyable  winter.  There  was  a  good  "bunch"  of  young 
people.  John,  Will,  Jim  and  Miss  Belle  Forbis,  Nellie  Pierce,  Minnie 
Wampler,  Maud  Noyes,  Will  Armitage,  Dave  Marks,  Charles  Pope,  Si. 
Marks,  Tom  Wampler,  Dave  Beck,  Geo.  Duffett,  R.  B.  Hassell,  Jas. 
A.  Pack,  Micklejohn  girls.  Miss  Fannie  Hotchkiss.  Morier  girls, 
among  those  I   remember. 

This  school  was  to  be  the  last  one  I  was  to  teach,  as  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  that  a  teacher  should  be  belter  educated  than  myself.  I 
did  try  to  impart  some  information  to  the  young  people  under  my  care 
that  winter,  and  received  a  very  nice  compliment  from  Mr.  hi.  S.  Clark, 
who  had  been  one  of  those  most  bitterly  opposed  to  me  in  the  beginning. 
It  came  up  in  the  following  way:  Mr.  Clark  had  two  boys  under  mc,  one 
of  whom  had  advanced  far  enough  to  go  to  a  higher  grade,  up  town, 
by  New  Years.  I  had  told  him  he  could  go,  but  Mr.  Clark  came  and 
asked,  as  a  special  favor,  if  I  would  allow  him  to  remain  with  mc,  say- 
ing:     "The  boys  have  done  better  under  you  than  ever  before."      I  most 


46  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX " 

certainly  felt  flattered   at  these  words,   as   I   knew   the  man   well   enough 
to  know  that  he  meant  what  he  said. 

That  summer  Will  Armitage  and  I  ran  a  dairy.  I  did,  for  a  while, 
clerk  for  Wm.  G.  Pfouts  on  Montana  Street,  in  a  feed  and  grocery 
store.  Wm.  G.  Pfouts  was  a  man  of  decided  opinion.  He  generally 
thought  himself  right  and  then  went  ahead.  In  the  fall  Will  Armi- 
tage and  my  sister  Maud  were  married,  as  were  also  Jno.  Wampler 
and  Minnie  Buck.  They  were  to  take  a  trip  through  the  National  Park. 
I  had  also  agreed  to  take  a  party  there.  We  would  all  travel  to- 
gether, but  would  have  two  separate  messes. 

Speaking  of  the  National  Park,  I  remember  a  little  thing  that  hap- 
pened. One  day  several  of  us  were  standing  in  front  of  Bill  Woodward's 
place  of  business,  on  Broadway.  I  had  been  describing  what  I  had  seen 
in  the  Park  the  year  before.  Billy  listened  for  several  minutes,  and 
turning  to  go  into  the  store,  said:  "You  are  the  biggest  liar  I  ever  saw." 
About  one  year  after  Billy,  having  been  to  the  Park,  came  to  me  one 
day  and  said:  "Al,  I  believe  I  owe  you  an  apology.  You  remember, 
after  having  listened  to  your  description  of  the  National  Park  last  year, 
I  called  you  a  liar?  Well,  I  want  to  take  it  all  back.  You  haven't 
got  half  enough  sense  to  tell  anything  about  it."  Some  people  might  not 
have  considered  that  much  of  a  compliment.  I  did.  Woodward  is  and 
was  a  very  intelligent  man.  My  description  must  have  had  some  merit, 
or  he  would  not  have  questioned  my  veracity.  No  man  can  describe  this 
wonderful  place  in  such  a  way  but  what  much  must  be  lacking. 

On  August  15th,  !88l,  I  again  pulled  for  Geyserland  with  W.  S. 
Park,  his  son,  Frank,  Geo.  Teasdale  and  John  Rule.  Before  going, 
we  entered  into  an  agreement  as  to  the  work  each  should  do  on  the 
trip.  I  am  convinced  that  this  is  the  only  way  to  make  a  journey  en- 
joyable. The  wedding  party,  consisting  of  the  above  named  newly  weds, 
the  Misses  Tilly  Wampler  and  Nellie  Pierce,  the  Rev.  Jno.  Garvin  of 
the  M.  E.  church,  Butte,  and  Myron  Hall  of  White  Sulphur  Springs, 
I  think,  started  the  next  morning.  The  trip  was  very  enjoyable  indeed.  It 
would  do  no  good  to  go  into  it  in  detail.  We  went  via  Virginia  City, 
up  the  Madison,  back  via  Yellowstone,  Bozeman,  etc.  I  got  the  horse 
left  on  the  Yellowstone  the  year  before.  We  had  been  out  for  35  days 
by  the  time  we  arrived  in  Butte. 

My  health  was  much  improved.  Soon  after  getting  home,  Geo.  H. 
Tong  gave  me  a  position  at  the  Vulcan  mine.  My  first  shift  was  put 
in  on  a  shaft  with  Miles  Cavenaugh.  This  man  was  a  very  peculiar 
one  indeed.  He  had  quite  a  serious  temper,  and  it  is  said  few  men 
could  work  with  him.  He  did  not  work  long  enough  with  me  to  display 
any  of  his  crankiness.  They  tell  some  funny  things  in  connection 
with  him.  A  new  man  was  striking  the  drill,  which  Cavenaugh 
was  holding.  The  new  man  at  first  did  not  quite  hit  the  head.  The  next 
time  he  struck  too  far.     He  said:     "I  was  too  far  that  time,  Mr.  Caven- 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  47 

augh,   wasn't   I?"      "No,"   was  the   reply,   "you  wouldn't  be  too   far  if 
you  were  in  New  York." 

In  the  fall  I  bought  some  hay  in  the  Big  Hole  Basin  of  Chase 
and  Hammer  and  took  my  cattle  to  that  place,  where  I  arrived  on 
Thanksgiving  Day.  E.  O.  Packard,  who  had  been  working  for  me,  had 
agreed  to  care  for  them  during  the  winter.  Milt  Jones,  Jared  Chase  and 
Jake  Hammer  were  at  the  ranch  when  we  arrived,  which  was  some 
time  after  dark.  Jim  Woods  and  wife  were  caring  for  Jim  Maxwell's 
steers.  They  lived  on  the  main  river  a  short  distance  below  Chase  & 
Hammer's.  While  Mrs.  Woods  was  not  the  only  woman  in  the  valley 
that  winter,  she  had  no  one  near  enough  for  neighbors,  hence  a  mighty 
lonesome  place. 

Returning  to  Butte,  I  resumed  my  work  at  the  Vulcan  mine,  until 
my  grandmother  was  taken  with  inflammatory  rheumatism,  when  I  was 
compelled  to  quit  work  and  care  for  her.  That  winter  Prof.  Speck  gave 
the  cantata  "Esther,"  Miss  Wallace  of  Helena  taking  the  leading  part. 
I  was  keeping  company  with  Hattie  Buck,  who  also  had  a  solo  in  the 
play.  Mr.  Buck  did  not  like  the  attention  I  paid  his  daughter,  on  account 
of  her  youth.  In  March,  Uncle  Will  Stanchfield  and  I  started  for  the 
Big  Hole  to  see  how  the  hay  was  holding  out.  We  took  a  span  of 
horses,  light  buggy  and  a  camp  outfit.  After  leaving  Dewey  we  had  to 
make  camp  in  a  "corral  in  which  a  stack  of  hay  had  been  that  winter. 
This  was  near  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek. 

Wheeling  was  fairly  good,  although  there  was,  in  some  places,  two 
feet  of  snow  on  the  ice.  We  were  traveling  on  the  river.  In  the  early 
forenoon  we  arrived  at  Chalk  Bluff.  Near  this  place  we  met  a  man 
riding  one  horse  and  leading  the  other,  which  had  a  harness  on.  We 
learned  afterward  that  this  was  Geo.  Gronn,  quite  a  character  in  his  way, 
who  was  going  after  an  elk  he  had  killed  the  day  before.  This  was  the 
20th  day  of  March,  1 882.  After  meeting  Gronn  we  continued  on  up 
the  river  a  few  miles,  when  we  met  "Zeke"  Packard  and  his  father  near 
the  mouth  of  Pintler  creek.  The  hay  was  gone  and  they  had  just 
turned  the  cattle  on  the  hills,  just  below  Doolittle  creek,  as  some  of  the 
ridges  were  bare.  We  had  to  be  contented  with  these  conditions  as  no 
more  hay  was  to  be  procured.  We  turned  back  and  camped  that  night 
at  a  cabin  belonging  to  the  Williams  Bros,  on  Squaw  creek,  next  morn- 
ing starting  for   Butte. 

As  there  had  been  a  considerable  opposition  to  my  kee])ing  company 
with  Hattie,  and  some  talk  of  her  father  moving  to  California,  we  came 
to  the  conclusion  to  "steal  a  march"  on  the  old  folks  and  marry.  Wo  set 
the  6th  day  of  April  for  that  event.  She  was  attending  school,  a  little 
slip  of  a  girl  in  short  dresses.  We  were  to  go  to  the  home  of  a  mutual 
friend,  get  the  justice  of  the  peace  and  marry;  no  license  was  needed  in 
those  days.  The  day  arrived,  and  instead  of  going  to  school,  as  her 
parents  thought,  she  went  to  the  home  of  W.  W.  I'ranres,  whore  she 
borrowed  a  dress  of  Miss  Alice,  her  chum.      As  Mr.  and   Mrs.   Frances 


48  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

were  not  at  home,  we  requested  of  Mrs.  Jno.  Paddock,  another  daughter 
who  lived  next  door,  the  privilege  of  having  the  ceremony  at  her  home. 
She  consented  and  Wm.  Packard,  a  friend  of  mine,  went  for  the  justice 
of  the  peace.  I  have  an  idea  that  the  J.  P.  had  never  before  performed 
a  like  service.  I  explained  that  he  could  make  it  as  short  as  possible. 
He  said:  "Do  you  take  this  man  to  be  your  husband?"  "Yes."  "Do 
you  take  this  woman  to  be  your  wife?"  "Yes."  "Then  I  pronounce 
you  man  and  wife."  I  reached  in  my  pocket  and  handed  him  ten  dollars. 
Upon  receiving  this  fee,  he  held  his  hands  up  and  said  very  impressively: 
"Oh,  yes!  Oh,  Yes!  What  God  hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put 
asunder."  After  we  were  married  I  sent  a  note  to  Mr.  Buck  explaining 
the  matter.  In  the  meantime  we  had  gone  to  the  home  of  my  grand- 
mother. I  introduced  Hattie  to  her  as  my  wife.  She  advised  us  to  go 
to  Uncle  Will  Stanchfield's,  which  we  did.  Shortly  after  getting  to 
uncles  we  saw  Mr.  Buck  going  by  on  a  white  horse.  He  went  to 
grandmother's  supposing  we  would  be  there.  He  was  unable  to  get  any 
information  from  her.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Buck  and  his  attorney.  Judge 
DeWitt,  again  went  to  grandmother's  for  information  as  to  our  hiding 
place.      Will  Armitage  told  him   we  were  at  Stanchfield's. 

It  was  about  9:30  p.  m.  when  they  came.  Owing  to  Hattie's  youth, 
the  attorney  tried  to  make  me  believe  the  affair  illegal.  Mrs.  Buck  had 
taken  the  news  very  seriously,  especially  as  she  was  in  ill  health.  For  that 
reason  Mr.  Buck  requested  Hattie  to  go  home  with  him.  She  wanted  me 
to  come  with  them,  but  as  the  buggy  would  only  hold  three,  I  must 
needs  walk.  Will  Armitage  and  I  walked  up  to  Mr.  Buck's.  I 
knocked  and  when  the  door  was  opened  met  with  an  exceedingly  warm 
reception.  I  asked  if  I  could  come  in.  His  reply  was  in  the  negative, 
at  the  same  time  kicking  at  me,  but  luckily  for  me,  did  not  reach  any 
part  of  my  anatomy.  We  did  not  have  any  serious  trouble,  as  Armitage 
and  I  went  home.  In  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  I  can  not  blame 
any  parent  for  feeling  very  much  hurt  over  such  an  affair. 

I  did  not  go  up  town  the  next  day.  When  the  Miner  and  Inter- 
Mountain  came  out,  the  most  glaring  news  was  the  wedding.  I  received 
no  particular  blame  from  the  news  gatherers  for  my  part  in  the  matter. . 
On  the  8th  I  went  up  to  see  Jno.  Forbis  and  get  his  advice  as  an  attor- 
ney. On  entering  his  office  I  was  greeted  by  Jim,  who  was  studying 
law  at  that  time  with  Knowles  and  Forbis,  with,  "Hello,  Al.  Are  you 
married?"  I  replied  that  I  did  not  know;  that  I  had  come  up  to  see 
Jno.  and  find  out  how  I  stood.  Soon  after,  Jno.  came  in.  He  took  the 
matter  up  and  agreed  that  I  was  married,  but  "Where  is  your  wife?" 
he  asked.  I  explained  all  about  that,  saying  the  girl  was  at  home,  and 
that  the  old  folks  were  keeping  a  pretty  close  watch  over  her,  so  I  could 
not  get  to  see  her. 

"If  she  is  my  wife,  the  old  gent  will  not  give  her  up;  how  would 
you  go  about  it  to  get  her?"  I  asked.  "There  is  only  one  way;  go  down 
to  Deer  Lodge,  go  before  Judge  Galbraith  and  get  out  a  writ  of  habeas 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX'  49 

corpus,"  he  replied.  After  talking  for  some  time  with  Jno.,  Jim  said  he 
would  go  to  Deer  Lodge  with  me.  We  had  no  cars  in  those  days,  so  I 
'.vent  to  Mantle  and  Cowan's  stable  and  got  a  team,  made  the  trip, 
got  out  the  writ  and  Mr.  Buck  was  cited  to  appear,  with  his  daughter, 
at  court,  Jno.  F.  Forbis,  Will  Armitage  and  I  went  to  Deer  Lodge  to- 
gether. Through  the  advice  of  Randolph  and  DeWitt,  Mr.  Buck's 
attorneys,  he  had  failed  to  fetch  his  daughter.  They  had  fixed  up  some 
affidavit,  which  they  had  gotten  her  to  sign,  stating  she  was  not  well 
and  did  not  wish  to  come.  Forbis  came  to  me  and  said  that  under  the 
circumstances  he  did  not  know  what  to  do;  that  we  would  probably  have 
to  wait  for  a  while,   etc. 

I  was  certainly  very  much  interested  in  the  matter  and  thought  that 
there  must  be  some  way  out  of  it.  John  was  feeling  blue;  Randolph 
was  elated.  An  idea,  in  some  way,  got  into  my  head.  I  said  :  "John, 
I  want  to  get  some  information.  Can't  I  send  Armitage  up  to  Butte,  let 
him  go  and  see  Hattie  and  find  out  how  the  land  lays.  If  he  should  go 
to  the  house  and  as  soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  walk  in,  could  they  do 
anything  with  him?"  "No,  they  could  not,"  he  replied.  "Well,  I  am 
going  to  send  him  at  once,  and  then  we  will  know  all  about  the  busi- 
ness. It  was  not  the  most  agreeable  night  for  a  ride,  as  it  was  raining 
and  snowing,  kind  of  a  sleet.  I  got  a  good  horse  and  Will  began 
his  42  mile  ride  about  9  p.  m.  That  night  there  was  a  wedding  in  the 
parlor  of  the  McBurney.  Amos  Buck  of  Stevensville  and  some  lady 
late  from  the  East.  I  could  hear  the  merrymaking  and  could  not  help 
thinking  about  the  difference  between  that  wedding  and  mine.  They 
would  taste  the  real  fruits  of  love  and  affection,  while  I  might  only  realize 
grief  in  the  actual  loss  of  the  girl  I  loved.  I  am  confident  now  that  I 
was  a  little  bit  envious  of  Amos'  good  fortune  in  having  such  favorable 
conditions  for  the  launching  of  his  matrimonial  craft.  How  little  do  we 
know  of  the  future,  "mother"  and  I  have  lived  together  for  over  32  j'ears. 

When  Forbis  entered  the  hotel  at  noon  the  clerk  handed  him  a  tele- 
gram, from  Armitage.  "Hattie  is  well  and  willing  to  come.  What  shall 
I  do  about  it?"  This  was  shown  to  Randolph.  It  is  needless  to  asy  that 
Randolph  did  not  have  much  appetite  for  dinner  that  day,  as  he  found 
himself  outgeneraled.  In  the  afternoon  we  were  called  into  court.  I  he 
affidavits  were  read  by  Randolph,  and  Judge  Galbraith  remarked  that 
he  did  not  see  what  could  be  done,  under  the  circumstances.  Forbis 
called  his  attention  to  the  telegram.  When  he  heard  the  contents,  he  said: 
"Mr.  Buck,  you  will  proceed  to  Butte  and  bring  your  daughter  at  once." 
Mr.  Buck  had  to  take  a  night  ride.  When  he  arrived,  the  next  day.  in 
Deer  Lodpe,  we  went  to  the  court  house.  Mr.  Buck  and  Hattie  were 
sitting  inside  the  rail.  Jud(.'('  Knowlcs.  who  was  sitting  with  mc,  asked 
if  I  had  spoken  to  the  girl  since  they  had  taken  her.  "No,"  I  replied. 
"Well  you  go  and  ask  Mr.  iiuck  if  you  can  talk  to  the  girl,  and  if  he 
says  *No'  you  ask  the  girl  if  she  wants  to  I. ilk  with  you."  Court  was 
not  yet  in  session.      I  walked  u]>  .md  said:      "Mr.    Buck,  can   I  speak  to 


50  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Hattie?"  "No,  you  dirty  dog,"  he  replied.  I  turned  and  said:  "Hattie 
do  you  want  to  talk  with  me?"  No  sooner  said  than  Mr.  Buck  hit 
me  in  the  face  with  a  large  law  book  he  held  in  his  hand — result,  a  black 
eye  for  me.  I  was  about  to  strike  him  when  the  sheriff  caught  me  and 
jerked  me  back  into  a  seat.  I  walked  back  and  sat  down  with  Judge 
Knowles,  who  was  laughing  to  beat  the  band.  Soon  after  court  convened 
and  the  judge  set  our  hearing  for  7:30  that  Saturday  evening.  At  7:30 
the  old  court  room  in  Deer  Lodge  was  crowded.  Hardly  standing  room. 
The  fight  was  on.     For  a  time  it  looked  as  though  Mr.  Buck  would  win. 

The  girl  had  been  told  that  the  marriage  was  illegal,  and  this  was 
the  impression  they  wished  her  to  get.  If  she  could  be  made  to  decide 
that  she  had  made  a  mistake  the  wedding  would  be  null,  so  far  as  she 
was  concerned.  After  listening  to  the  witnesses,  the  judge  asked  her  what 
she  wanted  to  do.  "I  want  to  go  home,"  she  said.  This  surely  was  a 
peculiar  situation  for  me.  The  girl  could  go  free,  while  I  would  be  a 
married  man  without  a  wife.  The  room  was  as  still  as  death.  All  had 
heard  the  girl's  reply.  Forbis  arose  to  his  feet  and  said:  "Hattie,  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  a  minute.  The  court  here.  Judge  Galbraith,  is  the 
one  who  decides  this  matter.  Suppose  he  says  this  marriage  is  legal,  what 
do  you  want  to  do?"  "If  this  marriage  is  not  legal  I  want  to  go  home. 
If  it  is  I  want  to  go  with  my  husband,"  she  said.  That  settled  the  case 
in  my  favor.  It  seemed  the  people  in  the  room  were  favorable  to  the 
youngsters,  for  no  sooner  was  she  through  talking  than  men  began  to 
stamp  their  feet  and  shout.  Seldom  has  such  a  scene  been  witnessed  in  a 
court  of  justice.  The  judge  did  not  at  once  call  for  order.  When  he 
did  and  quiet  was  restored  he  said:  "I  hardly  know  what  to  do  with 
these  young  people.  I  hate  to  lock  them  up,  but  when  young  people  get 
to  running  away,  you  can't  always  tell  where  to  find  them."  Forbis, 
with  a  big  smile  on  his  face,  said:  "I  will  pledge  my  word  of  honor 
that  I  will  look  after  my  client  and  see  that  he  is  here  when  you  want 
him."  "All  right,"  said  the  judge.  "I  will  decide  this  case  9  a.  m. 
Monday  morning." 

During  the  trial  Judges  Stephen  De  Wolfe  and  Alex  Mayhew  sat 
behind  me.  When  Hattie  got  through  talking.  Judge  Mayhew  patted 
me  on  the  back  and  said:  "Stay  with  her,  my  boy,  she  is  worth  having." 
John  came  to  me  a  little  later  in  the  evening,  and  told  me  that  Mr. 
Buck  wished  to  go  home  in  the  morning,  as  he  had  several  men  at  work 
on  the  school  house.  John  told  him  that  that  was  up  to  me.  John,  how- 
ever, advised  me  to  let  him  go,  as  it  would  be  much  more  pleasant  for 
Hattie.  I  got  Forbis  to  go  back  with  the  message  that  Mr.  Buck  could 
go,  but  that  as  he,  John,  would  send  a  telegram  to  Jim  Forbis  Monday,  as 
soon  as  the  judge  had  decided.  Should  the  decision  be  in  my  favor,  he 
was  to  turn  the  girl  over  to  me  at  once.  To  this  he  agreed.  All  of  us 
returned  to  Butte  that  Sunday  morning.  Monday,  I  was  certainly  on 
the  "anxious  seat."     My  telegram  did  not  arrive  until  3  p.  m. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  51 

As  the  judge  had  decided  the  legality  of  the  affair  in  my  favor,  I 
sent  a  note  by  my  cousin,  Willie  Stanchfield.  to  Mr.  Buck,  telling  him  the 
contents  of  the  telegram.  He  replied:  "There  is  no  hurry."  No.  hurrj^! 
Well,  I  guess  that  reply  made  me  pretty  mad.  I  wrote  again  and  told 
him  I  would  go  to  Deer  Lodge  and  see  what  the  judge  had  to  say  about 
it.  I  was  going  to  the  stable  for  a  team  when  I  met  Will  Armitage,  to 
whom  I  told  the  result  of  my  message  to  Mr.  Buck,  telling  him,  also, 
what  I  intended  to  do.  He  took  hold  of  me  and  said:  "You  are  not 
going  to  do  anything  of  the  kind;  you  are  going  to  get  something  to  eat 
and  then  go  down  home  and  go  to  bed."  As  "Bill"  was  larger  than  I 
this  was  carried  out  according  to  his  plans.  The  next  morning  before  I 
was  up,  Hattie  was  sent  down  to  our  home  at  grandmother's. 

I  have  probably  gone  into  this  more  in  detail  than  such  a  matter 
would  require.  Yet  it  was  talked  and  written  about  at  considerable 
length  when  it  occurred.  Senator  W.  A.  Clark  told  me  he  read  it  one 
morning  at  breakfast  in  Paris;  Chas.  Herman  in  Los  Angeles.  While 
these  things  do  occur,  I  can  not  advise  in  their  favor.  Parents  must 
use  considerable  good  judgment  in  dealing  with  young  people,  as  youth 
might  be  talked  out  of  much,  driven  out  of  nothing.  As  my  cattle  were 
in  the  Big  Hole,  we  were  to  take  up  our  abode  there  as  soon  as  we 
could  do  so.  Some  time  about  the  middle  of  May  my  Uncle  Will,  his 
daughter,  Fanny,  left  Butte  with  Hattie  and  me  for  our  new  home.  In 
order  to  go  to  the  Big  Hole  we  had  to  go  via  Bannack.  Our  outfit 
consisted  of  a  two-horse  team  driven  by  uncle,  a  single  rig,  a  small  wagon 
I  had  used  as  a  milk  wagon  by  myself.  We  had  our  worldly  possessions 
in  these  two  rigs. 

We  were  going  to  a  new  land.  No  woman  would  be  there  to  wel- 
come my  girl  wife.  In  a  valley,  forty  miles  from  the  nearest  neighbor, 
we  were  to  begin  life  in  a  little  log  cabin,  dirt  roof  and  dirt  floor,  without 
anything  in  shape  of  comfort.  The  weather  proved  favorable  for  our 
journey.  We  arrived  at  the  place,  now  Wisdom,  where  circumstances 
"pitched  our  camp."  There  was  a  small  cabin,  stable,  corral,  that  had 
been  built  by  Gilmer  and  Salisbury  for  a  stage  station  soon  after  the  battle 
of  the  Big  Hole,  as  they  had  gotten  a  contract  to  carry  mail  from  Ban- 
nack to  Missoula.  We  found  Jack  Hicks,  the  man  who  had  killed  the 
first  buffalo  for  our  train  in  '66.  I  had  not,  to  my  knowledge,  seen 
him  since  those  days.  He  was  hunting  and  trapping  for  a  living,  was 
when  we  arrived,  getting  ready  to  go  to  Jackson's  Hole,  Wyo.  He  told 
me  there  was  plenty  of  hay  for  my  purposes  growing  near  there,  and  that 
he  did  not  believe  the  stage  company  would  use  the  place  again,  so  I 
had  better  take  possession.  This  was  the  28th  day  of  May.  1882.  My 
cattle  were  down  the  river  I  5  miles.  We  would  go  and  get  them  and 
make  our  home  at  the  "Oossing."  as  the  place  was  called.  A  road  to 
Bitter  Root,  also  to  Gibbonsville.  crossed  the  Big  Hole  at  this  place. 

Wc  proceeded  to  Doolittic  creek  that  same  afternoon.  Stocl  creek 
and  McVay  were  swimmmg.  as  water  was  high  in  the  valley  that  season. 


52  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Zeke  and  his  father  had  a  cabin  just  over  the  ridge  from  Jim  Callens' 
place,  where  they  were  cutting  ties,  which  were  being  hauled  to  the  river 
by  Chase  &  Hammer.  These  were,  later,  floated  down  the  river  to 
Divide.  We  found  our  cattle  and  horses  in  fine  condition,  and  took 
them  back  to  the  "ranch."  On  June  first.  Hicks,  Stanchfields  and  Pack- 
ards  left  the  valley,  so  Hattie  and  I  were  "Monarchs  of  all  we  surveyed." 
It  was  a  lovely  day  in  June,  the  distant  peaks  were  covered  with 
stainless  snow,  and  framed  by  the  dark  colors  of  the  evergreens.  The 
swelling  river  gladly  rushed  to  mingle  waters  with  others  of  its  kind,  to 
later  lose  all  semblance  of  itself  within  the  sea.  This  emerald  vale, 
with  many  fragrant  flowers,  was  nature's  gift  to  poverty;  and  he  who 
would,  with  wisdom  turn  the  sod,  and  "thus  divert  from  yonder  sparkling 
stream  some  portion  with  which  to  bathe  the  thirsty  land,"  would  reap 
a  sure  reward.  Our  only  means  of  livelihood  was  by  milking  the  cows 
and  selling,  at  some  future  time,  our  butter  in  Butte.  We  proceeded  to 
dig  a  place  in  the  side  hill  for  a  milk  cellar.  I  would  get  up  at  3:30 
a,  m. — thus  beating  the  "Golden  Orb  of  Day" — to  get  the  cows  milked 
in  the  cool  of  the  morning.  I  don't  desire  that  you  should  get  the  idea 
that  I  rustled  the  live-long  day,  because  I  did  not.  I  generally  took  a 
nap  in  the  afternoon.  It  might  not  be  a  bad  idea  to  give  you  a  pen  picture 
of  our  home: 

The  cabin  was  15x16,  with  dirt  roof,  also  dirt  floor.  There  was 
a  half  window  in  each  end,  north  and  south.  A  bed  was  made  of  poles, 
in  the  northeast  corner.  We  had  no  springs  or  mattress,  a  tick  full  of  slough 
hay  answering  for  the  latter.  Jack  Hicks  had  a  small  rocking  chair  and 
stove,  which  I  purchased.  The  other  "chairs"  were  pieces  of  log,  or 
small  goods  boxes.  No  curtains,  no  need  of  carpet.  A  few  shelves  for 
the  few  dishes,   completed  the  picture. 

On  July  4th,  we  took  a  little  ride,  going  up  over  the  land  now 
owned  by  Fred  Frances,  but  the  mosquitoes  being  bad,  we  did  not  get  any- 
where near  as  much  enjoyment  out  of  it  as  they  did.  We  were  sleeping 
on  the  hill  just  back  of  the  cabin,  under  a  wagon  sheet  the  night  of  the 
4th.  It  was  probably  near  midnight  when  a  fearful  thunder  storm  which 
had  been  celebrating  over  Idaho,  came  up  with  quite  a  high  wind.  The 
wagon  cover  was  blown  off  and  we  became  drenched.  We,  no  doubt 
needed  the  bath,  but  would  have  much  preferred  it  in  some  other  hour  of 
the  day.  July  5th,  just  before  noon,  a  man  came  along  and  requested  per« 
mission  to  build  a  fire  nearby.  As  we  were  about  to  eat  dinner  we  in- 
vited him  in.  While  eating,  we  became  quite  well  acquainted,  as  it  is 
very  easy  for  people  to  get  near  to  nature  when  living  on  the  frontier. 
We  learned  that  his  name  was  Matt  Waldherr;  that  he  was  an  Austrian, 
who  had  been  in  Nebraska  and  Wyoming,  and  wanted  a  piece  of  land. 
We  gleaned  the  information  that  he  could  milk.  As  we  had  no  cam 
in  which  to  pack  our  butter,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  get  •nira 
to  take  care  of  our  place  while  we  went  to  Bannack  for  them.  He  agreed 
to  do  this,  so  we  left  that  afternoon  for  Warm  Springs  creek,  where  we 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  53 

were  to  camp  for  the  night.  Lewis  and  Clark  mention  these  springs,  also 
give  a  complete  description  of  this  valley  in  their  journal.  Clark  camped 
there  for  dinner  July  7th,  1806.  He  said  that  the  water  was  hot  enough 
to  boil  a  piece  of  meat  "the  width  of  two  fingers,  in  five  minutes  done 
enough  to  eat."  When  we  arrived  at  the  Springs  we  found  several 
men  from  Gibbonsville  in  camp.  They  suggested  that  we  take  a  plunge  in 
the  pool  formed  by  a  small  dam  a  short  distance  below  the  spring,  after 
dark.  I  foolishly  consented  to  this  and  in  we  went.  I  say  foolishly  and 
that  advisedly,  because  I  did  not  have  a  towel  with  which  to  dry  myself, 
so  stood  on  the  bank,  wrapped  in  the  light  of  a  silvery  moon  and  dried 
by  the  cool  breezes  of  a  high  altitude. 

We  arrived  at  Bannack  the  next  day  about  noon,  and  went  to  the 
home  of  Wm.  Blair,  Mrs.  Blair  being  an  old  playmate  (Emma  Ferster). 
I  had  come  with  the  expectation  of  getting  Geo.  W.  Dart  to  make  the  cans. 
In  this  I  was  not  successful,  as  he  was  packed  up  ready  to  move  to  Dil- 
lon, the  new  town  on  the  railroad.  Being  disappointed  in  this,  I  must 
go  to  Butte,  1 30  miles  away.  So  back  we  went  to  the  ranch  and  ex- 
plained matters  to  Matt,  who  kindly  agreed  to  stay.  We  thought  the 
river  would  be  low  enough  to  ford,  so  made  up  our  minds  to  try  that  road. 
When  we  came  to  the  "Twin  Crossing"  I  mistook  the  ford  and  arrived 
near  the  east  bank  just  above  a  boulder,  onto  which  the  high  water  washed 
my  wagon,  filling  the  bed  full.  Then  "Old  Queen,"  one  of  my  horses, 
refused  to  pull ;  Hattie  had  me  by  one  arm,  to  which  she  clung  with  a 
death  grip.  That  beautiful,  gurgling,  sparkling  stream(?)  was  now  a 
demon,  rushing  madly  by.  How  it  laughed  in  devilish  glee,  thinking  to 
clasp  us  in  its  cold  embrace,  and  leave  us  food  for  fishes  on  the  rocks 
below.  I  did  not  believe  that  I  could  get  my  wife  out  of  this  place  in  safety, 
as  the  water  was  going  so  swiftly  by  that  it  would  carry  us  off  our  feet 
in  an  instant.  An  All  Wise  One  knew  the  outcome.  "Old  Queen" 
threw  herself  and  came  up  blowing  mad  and  pulling  to  beat  anything  you 
ever  saw.  We  were  soon  on  the  bank,  mighty  thankful  for  the  escape. 
I  want  to  say  that  Queen  never  again  balked  in  a  stream.  We  camped 
that  night  with  Davis  and  Jones. 

On  my  arrival  in  Butte  I  was  taken  sick,  owing  to  my  hot  bath  by 
moonlight,  and  was  in  bed  for  two  weeks.  You  remember  I  had  left 
Matt  in  care  of  the  place  for  a  short  time.  What  with  sickness,  etc,  it 
was  four  weeks  before  he  could  get  away  for  himself.  Matt  was  cx- 
ceedincrly  anxious  to  get  a  place.  He  asked  me  how  much  I  claimed,  and 
I  told  him.  He  went  eight  miles  up  the  valley  and  settled.  A  party  came 
along  one  day  and  asked  Matt  about  b's  place,  what  he  claimed,  et-. 
The  valley  extended  about  forty  miles  south  of  his  cabin,  without  a 
settler.  "Shust  as  far  as  you  can  see  dat  vay  (south)  and  to  varc  Al 
Noyes  don't  claim  de  oder."  ho  replied.  As  I  only  claimed  (?)  three 
miles  south.  Matt  certainly  had  a  dandy  claim  (in  his  mind),  as  it  vas 
45  miles  long  and  from  5  to  1 2  wide.  The  fact  of  it  is.  he  did  get  a 
nice  piece  of  land,  which  was  made  into  one  of  the   nicest  hay   ranches, 


54  THE   STORY  OF   "AJAX" 

afterward,  in  Montana.  Wm.  F.  Packard  had  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  me,  as  it  was  up-hill  work  trying  to  do  anything  alone  on  a  ranch. 
He  had  come  back  from  Butte  with  us  via  French  Gulch.  A  few 
people  had  settled  soon  after  we  did.  A.  H.  McVey,  wife,  two  boys, 
Oscar  and  Earl,  Jas.  Geery,  wife  and  little  girl,  Minnie,  Geo.  Smith,  Jas. 
Innes  and  Frank  Dixon,  bachelors.  Wm.  Fraser  and  family,  near  Doo- 
little  creek.  They  were  the  next  ones  to  come  after  us,  in  fact,  Mrs. 
Noyes  being  the  first  woman  to  settle  in  the  valley. 

My  Wife's  First  Lady  Callers. 

We  had  been  but  a  short  time  on  the  ranch.  One  afternoon  I  was 
working  some  butter  on  a  small  table  near  the  back  or  north  window 
of  our  cabin.  Chancing  to  look  up,  I  saw  about  I  00  Indians  coming  up 
the  valley,  only  a  short  distance  away.  I  spoke  to  Hattie  and  told  her 
not  to  show  any  fear.  Soon  two  young  "bucks"  got  off  their  ponies  and 
came  to  the  cabin.  I  heard  one  say  to  the  other,  "Don't  speak  English." 
I  took  my  cue  from  this  remark.  I  knew  they  intended  to  scare  us,  if  they 
could  and  get  us  to  give  them  anything  they  asked  for.  They  hadn't 
calculated  just  right,  as  I  knew  a  little  of  Indian  nature  myself.  They  came 
to  the  door  and  one  said,  "Water,  water."  I  did  not  have  any  water  in. 
A  large  slough  ran  by  the  house,  so  I  told  them  they  could  go  out  and 
help  themselves.  "No,"  they  wanted  me  to  get  it.  Of  course,  I  refused. 
"You  gotta  gun?"  one  asked.  "Sure  I  have  a  gun,"  I  said.  My  gun 
was  on  old  bored  out  affair  for  shooting  ducks  or  small  game.  It  was 
of  no  particular  value.  It  was  leaning  up  in  one  corner  of  the  cabin  in 
plain  sight.  The  Indian  went  and  examined  it,  looking  at  the  other  with 
a  smile.  I  took  the  gun  out  of  his  hands,  telling  him  to  leave  it  alone. 
Soon  another  young  fellow  came  in  and  inquired  whether  I  had  a  gun 
or  not,  also  spying  it  about  the  same  time,  he  too  took  it  up  and  looked 
it  over.  I  walked  up  and  jerked  it  out  of  his  hands  and  told  him  to  leave 
it  alone,  that  the  next  fellow  who  fooled  with  it  would  get  hurt.  When 
they  found  that  v.'e  didn't  scare  "worth  a  cent,"  they  left  the  cabin  and 
went  to  the  camping  place,  about  one  mile  south.  The  next  morning  all 
my  horses  were  gone,  except  the  one  on  the  picket  rope.  This  was  not  a 
nice  condition  in  which  to  be  in.  What  to  do  I  did  not  know.  Hattie  was 
afraid  of  the  Indians.  Yet  I  must  hunt  the  horses.  When  I  was  milking, 
one  of  the  Indians  came  from  camp,  on  his  way  down  the  valley.  He 
stopped  for  some  time  on  a  litle  knoll  back  of  the  corral,  looking  at  me. 
Neither  of  us  passed  the  time  of  day.  After  we  had  been  to  breakfast, 
Hattie  chanced  to  look  out  of  the  window  and  saw  him  coming  back.  She 
said:  "You  better  go  and  ask  that  Indian  if  he  has  seen  anything  of 
the  horses."  I  followed  this  suggestion,  went  out,  met  him  and  said: 
"How?  How?"  "Good  morning,  sir,"  he  replied  in  good  plain  English. 
I  was  certainly  much  surprised  at  this,  and  it  made  me  feel  very  cheap 
that  I  had  not  spoken  to  him  before.     I  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  any  horses. 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  55 

He  said;  "No;  maybe  white  man's  horses  no  like  smell  of  Indians  so 
run  away.  Me  ask  young  men  when  me  go  to  camp."  This  Indian 
was  Louis  Vantleburg,  a  sub-chief  noted  for  his  honesty  among  the 
people  of  Bitter  Root.  Telling  Hattie  I  would  go  up  the  river  and  look 
for  them,  for  her  not  to  feel  afraid,  I  saddled  my  pwny  and  pulled  for  Steel 
creek  in  order  to  get  the  willows  there  between  me  and  the  Indians' 
camp.  I  went  up  the  valley  about  eight  miles  without  finding  any  clue. 
I  then  turned  for  home,  and  when  near  the  Indian  camp  I  saw  two 
Indians  get  on  their  ponies  and  start  for  my  place  as  fast  as  they  could 
go.  Vantleburg,  seeing  me,  came  out  to  show  me  my  horses,  which  were 
on  a  hill  five  or  six  miles  off.  Thanking  him,  I  started  for  the  cabin  as  fast 
as  my  horse  could  go,  fearing  that  Hattie  might  become  scared  at  the  two 
young  fellows  above  mentioned.  Just  as  I  arrived  two  squaws  were 
getting  on  their  horses,  and  all  four  of  them  pulled  for  camp.  "Were  you 
afraid?"  I  asked  Hattie.  "No,  I  had  a  real  nice  visit.  That  young 
squaw  can  speak  as  good  English  as  we  can.  She  has  been  attending 
school  at  one  of  the  missions  below  Missoula."  So  it  happened  that 
these  Indian  women  were  my  wife's  first  lady  callers.  They  came  to 
grind  their  knives  and  because  one  could  speak  our  language,  they 
made  the  time  pass  pleasantly.  Owing  to  the  manner  in  which  these  young 
Indians  came  to  our  place  the  night  before,  and  being  Indian  hunting 
ground,  we  did  not  know  what  they  might  do. 

We  went  to  Butte  to  live  that  winter  of  '82  and  '83.  Will  Pack- 
ard staying  with  the  ranch;  his  father  being  with  him  part  of  the  time.  A 
young  man  by  the  name  of  Edward  Shoemaker  was  living  in  the  cabin 
belonging  to  the  Horse  Prairie  Herding  Association,  about  seven  miles 
south  of  Wisdom.  He  was  hunting  and  trapping.  One  day,  in  trying 
to  cross  the  river  on  the  ice,  he  made  a  test  of  its  strength,  using  the  butt 
of  his  gun.  The  blow  forced  the  gun  through  to  the  hammer,  causing 
it  to  go  off  and  making  a  wound  which  resulted  in  death  soon  after  he 
got  to  his  cabin,  which  he  made  by  an  heroic  struggle.  Fred  Myers  and 
Cris  Wilke  happened  to  be  there.  Myers  went  for  Mr.  Packard  and  they 
made  a  coffin  out  of  a  sluice  box  and  buried  him  near  the  cabin.  Myers 
and  Wilke  had  come  in  that  fall. 

Geo.  Tong  had  agreed  to  give  me  a  job  on  the  Vulcan,  but  owing 
to  some  financial  trouble,  the  claim  was  closed  down.  So  I  bought  some 
cows  and  expected  to  sell  milk  for  a  living.  Mrs.  Kale  Shaw  and  Geo. 
Criskey  were  part  of  our  household.  My  father  was  doing  the  black- 
smithing  for  the  Dexter  mill,  which  was  leased  from  W.  A.  Clark  by  the 
Anaconda  people,  under  Marcus  Daly.  They  were  reducing  the  silver 
and  gold  ore  found  on  the  surface  of  the  Anaconda  mine.  There  was 
some  work  being  done  in  the  shop  for  outsiders,  also  ore  to  bo  wi-ighod. 
books  for  the  shop  to  be  kept,  and  a  helper  was  needed  for  the  smith. 
The  man  who  had  been  keeping  tin-  Iwoks  was  requested  to  help  the 
smith,  he  tried  it  for  one  day.  and  came  to  the  conclusion  he  could  find 
something  more  to  his  liking.     During  that  day  he  said  to  father:      "Old 


56  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

man,  do  you  know  what  I  would  call  a  man  who  worked  part  of  his  life 
for  nothing,  in  learning  a  trade,  in  order  to  get  a  chance  to  work  harder 
all  the  rest  of  his  life?"  "No,"  was  the  answer  made  by  father.  **I 
would  call  him  a  darned  old  fool,"  he  said.  As  the  position  did  not  suit 
Dick,  I  got  it;  the  $3.50  per  day  looked  good  to  me.  I  want  to  digress 
by  relating  the  following,  to-wit:  During  the  summer  I  had  learned 
of  the  imprisonment  of  a  young  man  with  whom  I  had  worked  in  Elk 
Park  cutting  piling  for  the  mines  of  Butte.  His  name  was  Roy  Towsley. 
After  going  to  Butte  that  fall,  I  had  a  vivid  dream,  in  which  I  thought 
he  had  escaped  from  Deer  Lodge  and  came  to  me  for  succor.  One 
exceedingly  cold  night  in  January,  I  was  awakened  out  of  a  sound  sleep 
about  2  a.  m.  by  a  knock  at  the  door.  Something  "told"  me  this  was  Roy. 
When  I  opened  the  door  I  saw  a  man  all  muffled  up  to  the  eyes,  who  could 
hardly  speak  above  a  whisper.  I  invited  him  in.  When  he  got  in  the 
house  he  said:  "Give  me  a  drink  of  water."  I  took  him  into  the 
kitchen  and  handed  him  some  water.  After  he  had  taken  a  little  he  said: 
"You  don't  remember  me,  do  you?"  "Yes,  you  are  Roy  Towsley,"  I 
replied.  "You  are  right.  I  have  just  escaped  from  Deer  Lodge ;  there 
is  $100.00  reward  and  you  can  get  it  by  giving  me  up,  but  I  want  to 
tell  you,  Al,  I  am  not  guilty,"  he  said.  I  replied  that  I  did  not  make 
money  in  that  way.  I  started  a  fire  in  the  sitting  room.  His  shoes  were 
frozen  stiff,  as  he  had  broken  through  the  ice  on  Silver  Bow  creek.  On 
removing  them  we  found  his  feet  ffozen  to  the  instep.  I  went  up  the 
street  and  awakened  my  Uncle  Will  and  told  him  the  particulars.  He 
returned  home  with  me  and  we  helped  Roy  thaw  out  his  feet.  I  told  Roy 
he  could  stay  with  me,  but  that  he  must  always  be  in  evidence,  should 
any  one  come  to  the  house.  He  remained  with  us  until  an  operation  must 
be  performed.  I  went  to  Dr.  O.  B.  Whitford  and  told  him  and  his 
son,  Chas.  W.,  all  about  the  case,  keeping  nothing  back.  They  had 
him  taken  to  the  hospital  for  treatment.  While  they  were  administering 
the  chloroform,  one  of  the  men  who  was  working  for  them  noticed  a 
number  on  Towsley 's  shirt,  and  at  once  informed  them  that  the  man  was. 
an  escaped  convict.  Dr.  Whitford  said:  "What  if  he  is,  he  will 
suffer  enough  without  going  back  to  Deer  Lodge.  So  keep  your  mouth 
shut."  He  did  not  heed  this.  There  was  $100  in  it.  He  sent  a  telegram 
and  found  out  that  the  number  was  Towsleys.  They  arrested  him  and 
placed  a  man  over  him  as  guard,  and  this  soon  after  his  feet  had  been 
cut  off  to  the  instep.  That  night  the  guard  fell  asleep.  What  was  the 
use,  he  no  doubt  thought,  of  keeping  close  watch  over  a  man  in  that 
condition?  He  did  not  know  the  nerve  of  the  man  in  his  care.  When 
he  was  sound  asleep,  Roy  got  up,  dressed  himself  and  made  his  escape 
to  the  stable,  where  he  stayed  48  hours  in  the  dead  of  winter  without 
food.  He  then  gave  himself  up  and  was  taken  to  Deer  Lodge,  from  which 
place  he  again  made  his  escape,  as  soon  as  his  feet  got  well,  not  again  to  be 
caught.  The  night  he  came  to  me  he  had  gone  into  my  stable,  taken 
off  all  his  prison  garb  with  the  exception  of  this  tell-tale  shirt.     It  appears 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  57 

that  two  young  fellows  stole  three  horses  and  saddles.  Roy  was  walking 
along  the  road  in  the  Jefferson  valley,  looking  for  work,  when  these 
people  overtook  him  and  asked  if  he  wanted  to  ride.  He  accepted  their 
kind(?)  invitation  and  they  camped  near  Twin  Bridges  that  night,  to  be 
overtaken  by  the  sheriff  of  Jefferson  county  the  next  morning.  Roy  was 
caught  in  bad  company. 

On  the  7th  day  of  February,  Edna,  our  first  child,  was  born  That 
was  a  very  cold,  disagreeable  winter,  and  on  that  particular  nigh-t,  it  was 
hard  to  keep  the  house  warm.  The  little  one  was  a  great  comfort  to  us. 
We  would  go  back  to  the  ranch  just  as  soon  as  the  spring  opened — when 
that  would  be,  we  did  not  know.  On  the  night  of  April  25  th  John 
Wampler  came  to  us  with  the  sad  news  of  Mrs.  Buck's  death.  A  little 
boy  was  born  to  be  motherless.  This  was  a  sad  thing  indeed.  Mrs.  Buck 
was  an  exceedingly  nice,  gentle  lady.  She  had  been  several  times  to  see 
us  during  the  winter,  and  while  she  had  not  forgotten  the  manner  in 
which  our  marriage  occurred,  had  no  doubt  forgiven  us. 

As  soon  as  possible  we  got  ready  to  go  to  the  ranch.  Will  Packard, 
Matt  Waldherr  and  Zeke  Packard  had  come  down  and  we  were  to  go 
back  together.  The  first  night  we  went  to  Henry  Partridge's  place  on 
the  Big  Hole.  We  expected  to  go  up  the  river  and  did  go  as  far  as  what 
is  now  called  the  "Dickey  Bridge."  In  those  days  there  were  no 
bridges  on  the  Big  Hole  above  Dewey's.  When  we  arrived  at  the  river 
we  found  it  too  high  for  us  to  cross  with  the  little  single  rig  we  had.  Matt 
and  Zeke  crossed  with  the  heavy  wagon,  and  we  turned  back,  to  go  via 
Bannack.  We  were  only  37  miles  from  home  by  the  river  road,  while 
by  Bannack  it  would  be  MS.  We  returned  to  Partridges  for  the  night; 
pulling  out  the  next  morning  for  "home."  At  Bannack,  we  were  kindly 
welcomed  by  the  Blairs,  and  stayed  all  night.  The  next  morning  we  got 
an  early  start,  as  we  must  make  the  Big  Hole  Divide.  It  was  so  early  in 
the  spring  that  we  could  not  follow  the  wagon  road,  so  were  compelled 
to  go  quite  a  distance  around  and  higher  up  the  hill.  We  saw  the  tracks 
of  a  party  ahead  of  us  and  found  where  they  had  dug  through  a  big 
snow  drift  and  gone  on.  We  were  very  fortunate  in  having  this  woik 
done  for  us.  Just  before  dark,  we  found  these  people  camped  about 
four  miles  south  of  Warm  Springs  on  Cow  creek.  They  had  a 
little  fire  and  as  it  was  gelling  cold  we  accepted  of  their  invitation  and  went 
into  camp  for  the  night.  My  outfit  consisted  of  a  little  single  rig.  just 
large  enough  for  my  wife  and  baby  to  sleep  in.  Will  and  I  slept  under  it 
We  learned  that  the  man's  name  was  Wralon.  His  party  consisted  of 
wife,  three  daughters.  Etta,  now  Mrs.  Jay  Hem;  Dora,  the  wife  of  Fred 
Frances;  Bertha,  Mrs.  Chas.  W.  Frances,  and  brother-in-law.  S.  D. 
Vance.  Mrs.  Chas.  and  Fred  Frances  have  continued  to  live  in  the  Big 
Hole.  I  hf-y  have  built  up  lovely  homes  and  have  Iwen  workers  for 
the  betterment  of  the  people  among  whom  lh<-y  have  grown  up.  I  his 
was  on  the  8th  day  of  May.  1 883.  Our  baby  was  three  morilhs  old. 
While   she   did    not   suffer    from   cold,    she   could    not    have   been   any    too 


58  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

comfortable  at  an  altitude  of  almost  7000  feet.  On  the  ninth  we  ar- 
rived at  our  cabin,  to  find  Mr.  S.  E.  Packard  in  charge. 

We  found  that  our  stock  had  come  through  the  winter  in  good  shape. 
Dave  Wraton  and  Dug  Vance  erected  a  small  cabin  on  Sheep  creek. 
They  moved  to  a  more  desirable  place  on  the  main  river  shortly  after.  The 
late  settlers  have  often  wondered  why  the  people  who  came  early  took  the 
river  bottom  first,  when  they  could  have  had  much  better  land  by  re- 
claiming the  benches.  The  fact  is,  the  river  bottom  had  some  natural 
hay,  owing  to  the  flood  water  in  early  spring  and  summer.  While  the 
bench  lands  required  quite  an  expenditure  of  money  and  muscle  before 
hay  would  grow.  Muscle  the  early  setder  may  have  had,  but  no  money. 
For  those  who  may  in  the  years  to  come  want  more  information  concerning 
this  now  noted  stock  feeding  center,  I  will  add  the  following,  to-wit :  After 
a  part  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition  passed  through  this  valley  in  July, 
I  806,  no  account  is  given,  to  my  knowledge,  of  any  other  person  or  per- 
sons having  been  in  it  until  the  gold  excitement  in  I  862  (See  Big  Hole 
history).  It  is  almost  certain  though,  that  trappers  found  their  way  here,  as 
the  journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark  mentions  this  place  as  favorable  to  beaver. 
Capt.  Bonneville  may  have  come  here  in  the  early  30s,  as  he  was  on  the 
north  fork  of  the  Salmon,  near  where  Gibbonville  is  now,  for  a  time.  When 
the  first  prospectors  came  up  the  north  fork  of  the  Salmon,  thence  up 
Dallonaga  creek,  where  gold  was  discovered  in  paying  quantities,  to  the 
place  since  called  Pioneer,  I  do  not  know.  Who  they  were  I  never 
learned.  That  is  a  matter,  probably,  to  be  found  in  the  Historical  So- 
ciety's records  in  Helena.  That  gold  was  found  here  before  it  was 
found  in  Bannack  is  well  known.  French  gulch,  at  the  extreme  lower  end 
of  the  valley,  was  once  a  noted  mining  camp.  Mike  Steel  had  found 
gold  on  Steel  creek,  and  with  others,  Ed  Boyle,  Barney  McDonnell, 
had  put  in  several  seasons  placer  mining.  While  many  had  seen 
this  section  of  the  country,  it  was  considered  too  high,  hence  too  cold 
and  stormy  for  habitation.  I  have  given  this  as  a  part  of  the  story  of  the 
Big  Hole. 

As  above  mentioned,  we  who  were  the  new  comers  had  much  with 
which  to  contend.  There  were  no  fences,  no  schools,  no  mail,  and,  of 
course,  no  churches.  Our  provisions  were  hauled  over  no  roads  from 
Butte,  We  also  got  mail  then  80  miles  away.  Before  coming  to  the 
valley  I  had  interviewed  Ed  Barker,  who  had  cut  hay  with  Chase  and 
Hammer  on  the  North  Fork  in  '80,  as  to  the  best  place  to  locate.  Ed 
Barker  and  his  brother,  Tom,  had  crossed  the  plains  in  our  train  in  '66, 
their  wagon  being  close  behind  ours.  They,  with  Geo,  fibbitts,  had 
spent  a  considerable  time  prospecting  and  hunting,  in  the  summer  and 
fall  of  67  in  the  Big  Hole.  He  told  me  that  the  land  near  the  Warm 
Springs  was  good  and  that  that  would  be  a  good  place  to  settle.  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  take  up  this  particular  place  and  make  my  home 
there,  as  it  was  only  30  miles  from  Bannack,  then  the  county  seat  of 
Beaverhead   county. 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  59 

As  before  mentioned,  we  moved  to  the  valley  in  1882.  We  were 
compelled  to  come  via  Bannack,  up  the  Grass  Hopper  to  the  Big  Hole 
divide.  \X^e  crossed  the  same  day  the  "drag"  of  the  Horse  Prairie  cattle 
herd  did.  May  27th.  When  we  camped  that  night  at  Warm  Springs 
there  must  have  been  2000  or  more  cattle  on  my(>)  meadow.  Gee  Whiz! 
What  would  my  little  bunch  of  40  head  look  like  in  that  outfit.  Soon 
all  the  grass  would  be  down  the  throats  of  that  hungry  mob,  to  make  beef 
for  the  cattle  kings  of  Horse  Prairie.  I  saw,  at  once,  that  I  must  move 
before  I  even  began  to  locate.  The  reason  is  plain,  then,  why  I  didn't  take 
up  the  Springs  instead  of  B.  O.  Fournier.  I  had  a  few  head  of  cattle 
that  would  need  hay  that  winter,  and  as  there  was  about  14,000  head 
of  cattle  roaming  at  large  through  that  section  of  the  country,  I  would 
get  no  benefit  from  that  season's  grass,  and  might  not  be  able  to  get 
fencing  to  guard  against  them  the  coming  spring.  Fournier  had  no  cattle, 
so  he  could  fence  before  he  needed  hay. 

With  that  summer  of  83  came  more  people  to  settle  along  the  banks 
of  the  river.  The  Horse  Prairie  people  did  not  take  kindly  to  this,  as  it 
would  cut  in  on  their  summer  range.  I  remember  that  Mart  Barrett, 
Gus  Graeter,  Dave  Metlen,  Tommy  Pierce  and  others,  who  owned  cattle, 
came  to  my  place  one  day  and  entered  into  a  conversation  with  me  as 
to  what  I  intended  to  do  in  such  a  snowy  place.  Mart  said:  "You  can't 
live  in  a  place  like  this,  you  will  starve.  The  snow  sometimes  gets  over  these 
willows."  I  told  them  that  I  intended  to  stay  right  there  and  make  a  living 
of  it.  The  stockman  is  always  very  selfish.  It  is  part  of  his  business  to 
be.  These  men  were  making  money  in  raising  stock,  as  the  cost  was 
practically  nothing.  They  had  all  of  the  Big  Hole,  in  the  summer  and 
fall.  In  winter  Horse  Prairie  and  Medicine  Lodge.  If  people  were 
foolish  (?)  enough  to  take  up  the  Big  Hole,  they  would  lose  as  fine  a 
free  pasture  as  lay  out  of  doors.  So,  no  wonder  they  would  try  to  dis- 
courage the  "new  comer." 

Some  time  during  the  summer  O.  Willis,  the  assessor,  came  in  and 
spent  a  day  and  night  at  our  cabin.  He  was  the  first  assessor  ever  in  the 
valley.  Zeke  Packard  and  Waldherr  did  not  get  up  to  the  ranch  with 
the  wagon,  and  on  account  of  the  high  water  it  was  left  across  the  North 
Fork  below  Chase  and  Hammer's.  We  brought  the  first  organ  ever  in 
the  valley  on  that  wagon  that  trip.  During  that  season  a  monument  was 
erected  at  the  Battle  Field.  The  day  it  was  placed  in  position,  a  young 
man  was  sent,  via  Butte,  with  dispatches  for  headquarters.  He  came  to 
our  place  and  passed  the  night.  While  eating  supper,  he  noticed  the 
organ  and  asked  permission  to  play  on  it.  Say!  that  fellow  could  play 
anything.  He  told  us  that  many  a  lime  he  had  been  locked  up  by  his 
parents,  on  bread  and  water,  if  he  failed  to  practice.  With  all  his  talent 
along  that  line,  he  did  not  use  it  to  any  advanta}j:c,  as  the  next  I  heard  of 
him  he  was  playing  in  a  hurdy  house  in  Butte.  Some  time  after  the 
monument  had  been  put  up.  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  came  to  inspect  it.  He 
camped  on  our  ranch,  jusl  across  the  river  from  where  Wisdom  is  now. 


CO  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

He  kindly  sent  me  an  invitation  to  come  over  and  call  on  him.  Owing 
to  diffidence,  I  did  not.  I  regret  very  much  that  I  did  not  go  and  talk 
with  him. 

There  is  nothing  of  particular  interest  to  record  so  far  as  we  were 
concerned  that  summer.  We  were  to  stay  on  the  ranch  that  winter.  Mr. 
Packard,  Billy,  Zeke  and  I  put  up  the  hay  together.  That  winter  the 
first  beef  cattle  were  fed  in  the  valley.  Nick  Bielenberg  of  Deer  Lodge 
sent  in  98  head  of  steers  purchased  near  Sheridan,  Mont.  They  landed 
in  the  feed  lots,  or  the  feed  ground,  as  they  did  not  build  feed  racks, 
feeding  on  the  snow,  December  25th,  generally  called  Christmas  in  civilized 
countries.  They  were  fed  until  April  25th,  then  driven  to  Butte.  They 
ate  2  6-10  tons  of  hay  per  head,  according  to  measurment.  "Big  Foot" 
Smith  lived  in  the  valley  that  winter,  hunting  and  trapping.  He  told 
me  of  a  mine  that  he  believed  would,  one  day,  prove  valuable.  (Of  this 
more  anon.)  When  the  Bielenberg  steers  were  taken  out  there  was  two 
feet  of  snow  all  over  the  valley,  Geery,  McVey,  Fraser  and  I  went  out 
with  Smith,  the  man  who  fed  them.  Game  was  plentiful  all  winter;  elk 
and  moose  could  be  had  any  day,  close  to  the  house.  Elk  were  always 
in  sight,  as  many  as  45  or  50  head  in  a  herd.  The  weather,  as  a  whole, 
v/as  not  disagreeable.  Few  if  any  blizzards.  On  the  whole,  we  enjoyed 
it  very  much.  We  had  splendid  neighbors:  McVeys,  Geerys,  Frasers 
and  Wratons.  We  went  often  to  see  Billy  Fraser,  as  we  had  known 
him  in  Butte.  They  were  mighty  good  people  to  visit.  The  first  child 
born  in  the  valley  v/as  Gibbon  Fraser,  afterward  killed  in  the  big  ex- 
plosion in  Butte. 

As  before  noted,  the  beef  cattle  left  April  25th,  with  two  feet  of 
snow  on  the  ground.  McVey,  Bill  and  I  were  going  to  take  out  four 
horses  and  get  a  load  of  provisions.  I  had  a  wagon  in  Butte.  When  we 
got  ready  to  start  back,  we  were  compelled  to  go  via  Bannack,  on  account 
of  roads.  When  we  arrived  at  the  Big  Hole  divide,  we  found  that  the 
drifts  were  such  that  we  could  not  dig  through  along  the  main  road,  so 
we  went  higher  up  the  mountains,  where  the  drift  was  normal  and  worked 
our  way  over,  camping  that  night  on  the  side  hill  just  east  of  Bull  creek. 
The  valley  was  nice  and  green,  a  rapid  change,  with  two  weeks  of  May 
sunshine.  The  next  night  we  made  our  place.  Early  in  the  summer  Will 
Packard  and  Dave  Wraton  went  hunting.  They  found  a  litde  baby  elk, 
which  they  captured  without  any  trouble  and  brought  it  home.  We  called 
her  Minnie.  She  exhibited  some  fine  qualities.  We  brought  her  up  with 
the  calves,  on  skim  milk.  Before  her  advent,  we  always  had  to  make  a 
trip  for  calves  in  order  to  get  them  to  feed.  After  she  became  one  of  the 
calf  family  she  brought  them  up  to  the  corral  without  any  trouble  to  us. 
She  v.ould  start,  and  if  they  did  not  follow,  she  would  begin  to  run 
around  them  and  get  them  in  a  playful  mood,  then  make  a  bee  line  for 
home  with  all  the  calves  following.  When  she  became  a  little  older 
she  would  not  allow  a  strange  cow  in  our  herd.  I  noticed  her  one  day. 
She  had  driven  a  young  cow,  belonging  to  the  Horse  Prairie  people,  out 


THE   STORY  OF  -'AJAX*  61 

of  the  herd.  The  cow  would  persist  in  returning  to  our  cattle.  I 
rode  out  to  see  what  was  going  on  and  found  a  young  calf  that  did  not 
belong  to  us.  Minnie  probably  was  partial  to  calves,  but  did  not  want 
the  mother.  Often  people  would  come  to  the  house  to  borrow  a  gun, 
"'Cause  there  is  an  elk  right  out  there."  No  fence  would  hold  her  and 
no  hay  stack,  in  those  days,  high  enough  to  keep  her  from  getting  on  top 
of  it.  We  sold  her  one  day  to  Geo.  Gronn,  who  was  to  take  her  to 
some  one  in  Butte.  A  rope  was  thrown  around  her  slender  neck  and 
tied  to  a  jx)st  while  George  went  in  to  dinner.  When  we  came  out  we 
found  her  dead. 

A  man  named  Mulkey  came  into  the  valley  that  summer  with  his 
family.  He  was  hunting  for  some  "lost  mine."  Not  successful  in  find- 
ing it,  he  worked  for  us  during  haying  season.  As  the  Coeur  d'Alene 
country  was  then  being  opened  up  he  came  to  the  conclusion  to  go  there. 
Billy  Packard  made  up  his  mind  to  go  with  them,  as  there  was  a  girl 
in  the  family,  for  whom  he  had  developed  some  considerable  affection. 
He  sold  his  interest  in  the  place  to  a  young  man  in  Butte  named  Talbert. 

James  Geery  was  the  first  postmaster.  The  office  was  called  Wis- 
dom, the  name  given  to  the  river  in  1 805  by  Lewis  and  Clark.  The 
first  voting  precinct  was  at  Wisdom  postoffice,  at  Geery's  ranch,  three 
miles  north  of  what  is  now  the  little  town  of  Wisdom.  On  Sept.  7th.  our 
first  son,  Charles  Raymond,  was  born  at  my  father's  house  in  Butte.  My 
father  made  me  a  visit  that  fall  of  a  week,  his  only  visit.  Geo.  H.  Tong, 
his  brother  Harry,  Atwood  and  Atwater  Lawrence  visited  me.  George 
told  me  he  was  in  debt  $7,500  and  could  not  eat  if  he  didn't  have  good 
friends  that  owned  a  grocery  store.  Said  that  he  had  hopes  of  making 
some  money  out  of  the  Goldsmith  mine.  He  was  successful  in  doing  this, 
making  $72,000  in  six  months.  Ben  Froman  and  wife  came  along, 
from  Dillon,  while  Tongs  were  there.  As  I  had  only  one  room,  I  gave 
it  up  to  Ben,  wife  and  Geo.  Tong,  we  younger  fellows  made  our  bed  down 
in  a  chicken  house,  which  I  had  just  completed.  Jack  Hicks  had  given 
me  logs  for  a  cabin  18x18.  We  had  this  erected  and  would  live  in  it  in 
the  summer,  going  to  the  little  house  under  the  hill  in  winter.  There 
was  no  other  than  a  dirt  floor  in  either  of  them.  Jerry  Fahey  and  sister, 
of  Gibbonsville,  came  to  our  place  one  night,  on  their  way  from  Dillon, 
to  stay.  Miss  Fahey  was  sitting  in  a  little  rocking  chair,  her  hand  in 
some  way  touched  the  floor,  in  which  there  was  about  two  inches  of 
dust.  "Mrs.  Noyes,  what  kind  of  a  carpet  have  you  got,"  she  asked 
".Nothing  but  a  dirt  floor,"  was  the  reply.  In  the  spring  of  1884,  Mrs. 
Noye«  requested  that  we  do  something  toward  getting  a  floor  in  the  large 
cabin.  A  Mr.  Woods,  of  Gibbonsville,  told  us  he  would  give  us  some 
lumber  that  was  on  C'ow  creek,  twenty-eight  miles  south  of  our  place. 
Billy  got  this,  which  was  not  enough,  so  wt-  broke  up  some  of  the  sluice 
boxes  at  Steel's  Diggings  for  the  balance.  Having  such  a  large(?) 
house,  and  that,  loo,  with  a  board  floor,  we  concluded  to  give  a  dance, 
the    first    one    in    the    valley.        This    was    on     I  hanksgiving    night.      John 


62  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

Paddock  had  agreed  to  furnish  the  music,  but  owing  to  sudden  illness  he 
could  not  come.  Walt  Maloney  did  the  act  in  a  most  thorough  manner, 
for  which  all  were  grateful.  Counting  children,  there  were  45  people 
gathered  at  our  cabin  that  night.  It  was  an  exceedingly  enjoyable  affair. 
One  of  the  cowboys  "balanced"  so  hard  the  heel  of  his  boot  went  through 
the  floor.  We  had  a  nice  basket  supper,  furnistied  by  the  ladies.  It  does 
not  make  much  diffirence  to  my  readers,  as  to  the  names  of  those  at  this 
first  dance,  except  in  a  historical  way,  but  for  this  last  reason  I  will  try 
and  give  most  of  them: 

George  Gronn,  Wm.  Fraser  and  family,  A.  H.  McVey  and  family, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geo.  Thompson  and  Miss  Sallie  (now  Mrs.  Jasper  Bur- 
gess) ;  Nels  Johnson  and  father,  Erick  Mussigbrod,  Al  Smith  and  John 
Q)ttrell  of  Mitchell  and  Mussigbrod's  ranch,  Jerry  Merrett,  Quit  Owen, 
Watt  Maloney,  Charlie  Frances,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Paddock  and  children, 
Capt.  and  Mrs.  Bentley,  Ben  Hamby  and  family,  Mr.  Irwin, 
John,  Frank  and  Ed  Wright,  Matt  Waldherr,  Goodlove,  Wm.  Ryan, 
May  Ayers,  Allen  Merrett,  Robt.  Geery.  Collection  $6.75.  Many  an 
enjoyable  party  was  given  at  the  old  house  after  this  "grand  ball." 

Early  that  winter  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geery  lost  their  only  child,  Minnie, 
with  scarlet  fever.  TTiis  was  the  second  death  in  the  valley.  We  were 
living  on  our  pre-emption  one-half  mile  below  Wisdom.  Jimmie  Buckley, 
a  placer  miner,  was  staying  at  the  old  Steel  Creek  mines,  as  he  had  for 
two  or  three  seasons  past.  He  was  very  fond  of  our  children,  and 
Edna  in  particular.  One  morning  about  three  weeks  after  the  death  of 
Minnie  Geery  he  came  to  our  place.  I  was  feeding  the  cattle.  The  first 
thing  he  said  was  :  "How  is  Edna?"  "She  is  all  right,  Jimmie.  Why 
do  you  ask?"  I  replied.  "Last  night  I  dreamed  she  was  dead,  and  I 
couldn't  rest  till  I  came  to  see,  '  he  said.  The  strange  thmg  about  it  is 
she  was  taken  sick  that  night  with  scarlet  fever  and  was  sick  for  over 
two  weeks,  being  constantly  nursed  by  her  mother.  Jimmie  stayed  and 
did  my  chores  for  me.  There  must  have  been  some  power  that  caused 
that  kind-hearted  old  Irishman  to  come  to  us  in  our  need.  The  sum- 
mer of  '84  we  brought  a  young  girl  with  us  from  Butte,  who  desired 
to  get  away  from  her  father,  who  was  unkind  to  her.  In  the  spring  of 
'85  she  was  married  to  Jerry  Merritt  in  Bannack  by  Major  Watson, 
justice  of  the  peace,  an  old  partner  of  my  father's  in  '66.  We  went  with 
them.  This  was  our  first  visit  to  Dillon.  I  bought  my  first  spring  wagon 
of  B.  F.  White,  a  Racine,  paying  $165;  Dan  Chapman  was  the  sales- 
man. Some  time  in  the  summer  after  Mary  and  Jerry  were  married,  I 
went  to  Butte.  I  was  at  the  home  of  my  brother-in-law,  John  Wampler, 
when  he  came  in  with  a  copy  of  the  Miner,  which  had  glowing  headlines 
of  the  kidnapping  of  a  young  girl  by  Geo.  R.  and  A.  J.  Noyes.  Eugene 
Sullivan  was  then  sheriff  of  Silver  Bow  county.  The  papers  for  my  arrest 
had  been  placed  in  his  hands  and  he  had  gone  to  the  Lower  Big  Hole,  in- 
stead of  the  upper,  so  had  failed  to  find  me.  As  soon  as  I  read  the  article, 
I  went  to  the  court  house  to  find  Sullivan.      Some  one  told  me  that  the 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  63 

gentleman  driving  up  the  street  was  the  party  for  whom  I  was  looking.  I 
stopped  him  and  explained  to  him  that  my  name  was  Al  Noyes;  that  I 
could  be  found  at  any  time  when  needed.  "Are  you  the  son  of  a  gun 
I  have  been  hunting  for  all  over  the  Big  Hole  country?"  he  asked. 
"Yes,"  was  my  reply.  "I  guess  you  are  all  right,  you  report  at  Judge 
Irvin's  court,"  he  said,  and  drove  on  up  the  street.  When  the  hour  for 
the  trial  came,  father  and  I  were  on  hand,  but  Nick  Ayers  did  not  appear. 
Wm.  Scallon  was  his  attorney,  and  asked  for  a  postponement  of  the 
case  until  the  next  day.  I  had  been  to  see  Knowles  and  Forbis  to  en- 
gage their  service,  if  needed.  Judge  Knowles  said:  "We  will  help  you 
if  you  need  us,  but  you  won't.  You  go  down  and  defend  yourself  in 
the  preliminary  hearing."  This  I  proceeded  to  do.  The  court  did 
postp>one  the  trial  until  the  next  day,  so  Ayers  could  attend.  I  happened 
to  be  at  the  court  house  late  in  the  afternoon  when  Chas.  S.  Warren, 
clerk  of  the  district  court,  came  out  of  his  office  and  proceeded  to  in- 
terview me  on  the  case.  "Do  you  know  Judge  Pemberton?"  he  asked. 
"No,"  I  replied.  Pemberton  was  then  prosecuting  attorney,  he  hap- 
pened to  be  sitting  in  front  of  the  court  house  during  our  conversation. 
Warren  saw  him  and  said:  "Judge,  I  want  to  make  you  acquainted 
with  Al  Noyes,  a  boy  I  have  known  for  years.  You  couldn't  get  him 
to  do  a  mean  trick.  We  have  him  arrested  for  kidnapping  a  girl;  pro- 
ceed with  this  trial  and  it  will  cost  Silver  Bow  county  $500  and  nothing 
will  come  of  it.  You  had  better  quash  it."  Pemberton  went  into  Judge 
Irvin's  office  and  told  him  to  quash  the  case  of  Montana  vs.  G.  R.  and 
A.  J.  Noyes.  "Give  me  a  written  order  to  that  effect  and  I  will  do  so," 
the  judge  said.  This  girl  had  gone  home  with  us  soon  after  Raymond 
was  born,  had  lived  with  us  until  she  was  married,  and  her  father  had 
done  nothing  toward  getting  her  back  for  almost  a  year  after  she  left 
home. 

In  1  885  Geo.  H.  Tong  bought  Talbert's  interest  in  the  ranch.  John 
Wampler  made  up  his  mind  he  would  move  to  the  valley.  He  came  in, 
built  a  cabin  on  a  pre-emption  claim  two  miles  below  Wisdom,  took  up 
some  desert  land  on  Steel  creek,  near  mine,  returning  to  Butte  for  his 
family.  Some  time  in  November  he  left  Butte  for  the  Big  Hole.  He 
was  taken  sick  on  the  way  in  and  died  with  blood  poisoning  about  ten 
days  after  he  reached  my  place.  We  sent  for  a  doctor  and  the  late  Dr. 
Treacy  of  Helena  came.  He  arrived  only  a  short  time  before  John  died. 
The  only  good  his  coming  did  was  the  information  concerning  the  cause 
of  death,  and  the  advice  to  be  exceedingly  careful  in  handling  the  body. 
Dr.  Treacy  was  the  first  doctor  to  be  called  to  attend  a  resident  of  the 
valley.  Tom  Wampler  was  with  us  when  John  died,  and  made  the 
coffin  for  his  burial.  John  was  buried  near  the  little  lake  just  north  of 
Wisdom.  He  was  a  good  citizen.  He  had  been  mining  for  years, 
during  the  early  days  of  Butte,  and  was  respected  by  all.  He  accumu- 
lated quite  a  lot  of  property.  Besides  his  wife,  he  left  a  son,  Walter,  and 
one  daughter.  May.     Walter  died  at  Tonopah,  Nev.,  a  much  loved  young 


64  THE   STORY  OF   "AJAX" 

man.  May  is  married  and  lives  on  the  old  Wampler  farm  near  Vincennes, 
Indiana. 

Geo.  Woodvvorth,  wife  and  son,  Fred,  V/.  W.  Frances  and  wife, 
and  C.  W.  Frances  came  to  the  valley  in  1885.  When  I  first  came  to  the 
Big  Hole  it  was  not  with  the  intention  of  making  a  permanent  home,  simply 
to  raise  some  stock,  make  a  little  stake  and  go  to  some  more  pleasant 
place.  Did  not  expect,  in  fact,  that  we  would  have  many  neighbors, 
yet  they  kept  on  coming,  taking  up  all  the  available  land.  A  school 
house  was  needed,  so  one  was  built  near  the  George  Woodworth  ranch. 
A  Miss  Blodgett  was  the  first  teacher,  the  year  1885.  In  time 
schools  were  built  in  such  number  that  many  teachers  found  employment. 
We  had  the  ordinary  amusements  common  to  new  settled  places.  A 
Literary  Society  flourished  for  some  time,  and  gave  us  quite  a  consider- 
able amount  of  enjoyment.  Dancing  and  snowshoe  riding  were  other 
ways  of  getting  together.  We  often  took  our  children  on  toboggans  to  a 
neighbor's,  the  men  and  women  on  skiis.  Cattle  feeding  had  not  been 
conducted  on  much  of  a  scale,  as  there  were  only  the  local  markets, 
Butte  and  Anaconda,  to  supply.  In  1  89 1 ,  Charles  Fry,  the  big  packer 
of  Seattle,  came  to  our  place  and  stayed  for  a  week  or  more,  and  had 
Chas.  Frances  make  a  trip  up  Trail  creek  to  see  if  it  would  be  possible 
to  break  a  way  to  the  Northern  Pacific  railway  at  Hamilton.  He  re- 
ported unfavorably  and  no  cattle  were  ever  shipped  that  way.  Fry  is 
now  one  of  the  largest  buyers  of  Big  Hole  cattle. 

J.  D.  Fox  and  son  started  a  small  store  at  Fox.  They  did  not 
carry  much  of  a  line,  yet  it  helped  fill  in.  They  were  the  pioneer  merchants 
of  the  valley.  We  had  our  desert  claim  fenced  by  John  Cottrell.  This 
was  the  first  land  enclosed,  as  a  ranch,  in  the  valley.  We  took  the  first 
ditch  out  of  Steel  creek  for  irrigating,  for  the  desert  claim;  also  first  ditch 
out  of  the  Big  Hole  river  for  the  same  claim.  The  summer  and  fall  of 
'85  gold  was  found  on  Trail  creek,  two  miles  above  Gibbon's  battle 
ground,  by  "Old  Man"  Lane.  Quite  a  lot  of  excitement  was  occasioned 
by  it.  A  town  was  laid  out,  survey  made  by  John  Poindexter,  called 
Monumental  City,  A  store  was  started  by  some  Bitter  Root  merchant. 
Several  people  put  the  winter  in  at  the  place,  among  whom  was  Billy 
Edwards,  the  man  who  was  in  the  battle  and  the  one  who  carried  the 
news  to  the  outside,  his  wife.  Dug  Newcomer,  Charlie  Richardson,  Frank 
Caldwell,  Old  Man  Lane,  Dunton  Bros.,  Jim  Raisor  and  several  more, 
whom  I  do  not  now  recall.  I  bought  a  lot  and  hauled  hay  for  a  feed 
stable.  The  winter  was  mild.  Very  little  snow  in  the  valley.  Only  fed 
our  cattle  1 2  days.  As  there  were  great  expectations  for  a  stampede 
the  coming  spring,  I  made  up  my  mind  a  bridge  across  the  Big  Hole 
would  be  a  paying  investment.  I  engaged  the  services  of  W.  A.  Ar- 
mitage,  D.  F.  Wampler  and  Watt  Maloney  to  help  me  build  a  log 
bridge  over  the  river,  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  one  now  on 
the  main  road  going  west  from  Wisdom.  The  stampede  did  not  ma- 
terialize, so  the  money  did  not  flow  in  too  freely.      This  was  the  first 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  65 

bridge  across  the  Big  Hole  above  Dewey's  Flat.  This  bridge  lasted 
that  season  and  part  of  the  next,  before  being  carried  out.  This  puts 
me  in  mind  of  a  little  incident  that  occurred,  while  the  bridge  was  in 
commission.  The  postoffice  was  at  Gerry's,  four  miles  north  of  our 
place.  People  on  horseback  were  charged  25  cents  toll.  A  man  came 
along  one  day  and  enquired  for  the  postoffice.  Mrs.  Armitage  directed 
him,  also  telling  him  there  was  a  toll  bridge  fee  of  25  cents.  "You  can't 
cross  the  bridge  till  you  come  to  it,  can  you,"  he  asked.  To  which  she 
had  to  reply  "No."  He  did  not  make  any  deposit,  but  rode  on  by. 
When  we  came  in  for  dinner  she  told  us  about  it.  Soon  after,  when  we 
were  getting  the  team  ready,  Maud  saw  the  party  coming  back  and  called 
my  attention  to  the  fact.  When  he  was  near  enough  I  spoke  to  him.  He 
did  not  stop  to  reply,  but  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  went  by  on  a  run. 
This  certainly  caused  me  to  become  very  angry.  Turning  to  Will  Armi- 
tage, I  said:  "Let's  catch  that  fellow."  We  ]iulled  the  harness  off  the 
leaders  and  jumping  on  bareback,  we  lit  out  in  hot  pursuit  of  Mr.  Man, 
who  we  did  not  catch  until  three  miles  had  been  gone  over.  We  made  him 
pay  us  for  our  trouble.  He  asked  my  name,  being  angry,  I  did  not 
inform  him.  He  rode  on  for  a  short  distance,  to  where  some  of  my 
neighbors  were  at  work  on  the  school  house  and  asked  them,  "What 
that  fellow's  name  was  who  had  the  bridge,"  saying:  "I  will  see  if 
there  is  any  law  in  this  land."  Some  of  them  asked  him  why  he  desired 
to  know.  "He  made  me  pay  for  crossing  his  bridge,"  he  replied. 
"Uncle  Jimmie"  Batterton  said:  "Did  he  make  you  cross  his  bridge?" 
"No,  of  course  not,"  he  replied.  "Well,"  the  old  man  said,  "you  had 
better  let  him  alone.  That  bridge  is  his,  on  his  own  land.  He  knows 
his  rights  in  the  case  and  will  protect  them."  This  was  the  last  I  ever 
heard  of  him,  to  my  knowledge.  I  do  not  want  anyone  to  understand 
that  we  cared  for  the  fifty  cents  enough  to  chase  a  man  that  distance. 
It  was  because  he  was  trying  to  cheat  us  of  our  just  dues.  If  this  man 
had  stopped  and  explained  that  he  did  not  have  nwjch  money,  but  desired 
to  cross  the  bridge  for  his  mail,  there  would  have  been  nothing  said 
on  my  part  other  than   "Go  ahead." 

The  town  of  Gibbonsville,  over  in  Idaho,  was  supposed  to  be  a  good 
gold  camp.  There  was  ore  there,  no  doubt,  which  only  needed  the  right 
process  to  reduce  it.  In  the  winter  of  1 888  a  Mr.  McAfee  of  Denver 
wanted  to  get  some  machinery  across  the  main  range  of  the  Rockies, 
where  no  team  had  ever  been  taken  in  the  winter  season.  Mr.  McAfee 
came  to  me  and  requested  my  assistance  in  this  undertaking.  I  was  to 
help  break  the  road  on  this  side  to  meet  the  party  he  had  coming  from 
Gibbonsville.  It  did  not  look  very  inviting,  but  as  he  claimed  he  was  de- 
pending on  me  for  help,  I  could  not  refuse  him.  Seneca  said:  "All 
men  are  susceptible  to  flattery,"  and  as  he  was  a  wise  man,  he  must 
have  known.  Jack  Wright  was  visiting  at  my  place.  He  was  a  good 
teamster,  had  a  good  work  horse  with  him  at  the  time.  I  went  to  the 
stable,  where  he  was  at  work,  and  asked  him  what  he  thought  about  the 


66  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

matter.  He  at  once  said:  "It  can't  be  done,  impossible."  My  reply 
was:  "It  can,  and  you  are  going  to  help  me  do  it."  Told  him  I 
would  give  him  five  dollars  per  day  and  expenses,  he  to  drive  a  four-horse 
team,  three  of  mine  and  his  own.  He  agreed  to  this.  I  then  went  to 
Will  Armitage  and  made  him  the  same  offer,  which  he  accepted  without 
any  argument.  I  was  to  furnish  the  hay  for  the  teams  then  on  the  road 
from  Dillon,  at  any  place  they  camped,  from  the  Big  Hole  to  and  in 
Gibbonsville.  We  got  ready  at  once  and  broke  a  trail  for  the  Poleburg 
cabin,  I  6  miles  away,  through  a  trackless  waste  of  snow.  We  made  th& 
cabin  O.  K.  and  returned  home  for  hay.  When  we  were  out  a  few 
miles,  the  next  day,  we  saw  the  freight  outfit  coming.  We  all  pulled  into 
the  Poleburg  camp  that  night  together.  There  were  six  four-horse  teams, 
Nate  and  Merrett  Hobson,  Cy  Byther  and  a  driver,  Millard  Kirkpatrick, 
who  had  for  his  assistant  Col.  L.  J.  Price.  This  was  the  first  time  I 
had  ever  seen  him.  The  Colonel  had  very  large  feet,  as  he  was  a  large 
man,  so  when  he  enquired  the  next  morning  if  anyone  had  an  extra 
gunny  sack,  as  he  wished  to  use  it  in  which  to  wrap  his  feet,  I  replied 
that  I  had  one  wagon  sheet  and  probably  he  could  get  one  from  some  one 
else,  as  they  would,  no  doubt,  come  nearer  fitting  than  a  small  grain  sack. 
He  did  not  appear  to  take  kindly  to  this  joke.  The  next  morning  the  men 
were  to  take  part  of  their  stuff  and  break  as  far  as  they  could,  toward  the 
party  that  was  coming  from  Gibbonsville.  I  was  to  take  my  teams  and  go 
to  the  ranch  for  hay,  and  overtake  them  the  next  night  at  Moose  Horn 
creek.  We  went  home,  put  on  two  good  loads  and  began  our  return  in 
good  season.  When  we  arrived  at  the  Poleburg  cabin  we  left  one  load 
and  one  span  of  horses,  and  started  for  the  camp,  which  we  supposed 
would  be  at  Moose  Horn.  As  this  was  the  month  of  February,  the  days 
were  not  long.  The  beaten  track  was  before  us,  impossible  to  get  out  of 
it.  We  had  wide  hay  racks  and  most  of  the  road  was  cut  through  timber 
years  before  by  some  fellow  who  probably  did  not  believe  that  any  one 
would  be  foolish  enough  to  try  to  haul  hay  over  it.  As  soon  as  we  got 
into  the  timber  we  began  to  chop  trees.  When  we  arrived  at  Moose  Horn 
we  found  no  camp.  The  fellows  had  found  good  roads  and  so  had  pro- 
ceeded to  get  as  far  as  they  could  that  night.  Where  they 
were  we  did  not  know.  What  we  did  know  was,  they  had 
no  hay  for  their  horses  and  would  have  none  unless  we  got  to 
camp  with  it.  We  were  not  in  the  best  of  humor,  you  may  know,  and 
thought  some  of  stopping  for  the  night.  That  we  did  not  was  on  account 
of  the  horses  that  would  stand  all  night  in  a  snow  bank,  after  having 
worked  hard  all  day,  without  hay.  We  had  a  lantern,  so  could  see 
to  chop  a  tree,  after  we  had  run  into  one.  We  kept  at  this  work  until 
1  1  o'clock,  when  we  saw  some  of  the  fellows  coming  to  tell  us  where  they 
were  camped.  When  we  arrived  there  we  found  that  the  snow  had  been 
dug  away,  so  the  horses  had  a  good  place  to  stand,  free  from  wind,  on  ac- 
count of  the  depth  of  the  snow.  The  weather  was  clear  and  cold  at 
night.     One  of  the  nights  we  camped  at  this  same  camp,  it  was  45  below 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  67 

zero.  McAfee  paid  $  1 00  per  ton  to  have  this  machinery  taken  from 
Dillon  to  Gibbonsville.  My  work,  including  hay,  for  1 8  days,  gave  me 
$360.00.  Pretty  good  for  a  ranchman  in  those  days.  Taking  this  trip, 
as  a  whole,  it  was  enjoyable. 

As  soon  as  this  job  was  finished,  Mrs.  Noyes,  Roy  and  I  went  to 
Dillon,  when  Edith,  our  youngest,  was  born,  March  27th.  Our  work 
was  the  usual  ranch  work  that  summer;  nothing  of  interest  to  note  until 
election  time.  The  "Big  4,"  Dave  Reinhart,  Joe  Metlen,  A.  O.  Rose 
and  Will  Jones,  ran  for  office  that  fall.  They  came  to  our  place, 
when  part  of  the  roof  was  off  our  one  room,  so  they  had  to  take  a 
field  bed  in  the  same  room  with  the  whole  Noyes  family.  That  same  fall 
the  Republican  Central  Committee  sent  Judge  L.  A.  Brown  and  Henri 
J.  Burleigh  into  the  Big  Hole  to  make  some  speeches.  They  were  to 
speak  at  my  house,  but  as  the  information  had  not  gotten  out  in  very  good 
shaf>e,  and  the  night  being  cold  and  stormy,  no  one  but  myself  was 
privileged  to  listen  to  them.  Mrs.  Noyes  kept  the  children  in  the  kitchen 
and  the  orators  of  the  day,  or  night  I  should  say,  held  forth  in  the  living 
room.  First  one  and  then  the  other  would  get  up  and  deliver,  more  or 
less,  of  his  speech,  to  be  always  interrupted  by  the  other  before  being 
anywhere  near  through.  I  endured  this  and  enjoyed  the  evening  very 
much  indeed.  I  explained  to  Judge  Brown  that  the  conditions  were  such, 
concerning  the  boundary  lines  between  this  county  and  Deer  Lodge 
that  "floaters"  could  come  in  at  any  time  and  change  the  political  com- 
plexion of  Beaverhead  county.  I  went  into  the  matter  in  detail,  drawing 
a  crude  map  of  the  country  near  F  rench  Gulch.  He  said  that  he  would, 
if  elected,  take  the  matter  up  and  get  a  bill  through  for  a  new  survey,  or 
in  fact,  a  survey  of  the  county  lines  of  Beaverhead  and  Deer  Lodge.  A 
very  peculiar  thing  happened  a  little  earlier  in  the  fall.  Rufe  Ferster, 
my  old  school  friend  of  the  '60s,  had  been  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
crats for  treasurer  against  Joe  Metlen.  Soon  after  the  convention  adjourned 
Rufe,  Mrs.  Blair,  his  sister,  and  her  children,  came  to  visit  us.  Rufe 
and  I  were  sleeping  in  the  hay  mow.  One  morning  he  awoke  and  said: 
"I  had  a  funny  dream  last  night.  I  thought  you  and  I  were  playing  on 
the  banks  of  the  Grasshopper  near  the  foot  bridge,  in  front  of  French's 
place,  when  we  made  up  our  minds  to  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  creek. 
We  started  across  and  both  fell  in.  The  peculiar  thing  about  it,  we  did 
not  get  wet."  "Let  me  interpret  that  for  you.  You  have  the  nomination 
for  treasurer  on  the  Democratic  ticket;  I  am  trying  to  get  the  nomination 
for  assessor  on  the  Republican.  I  will  not  succeed  in  getting  that,  and 
you  will  not  be  elected,  and  the  fact  that  we  did  not  get  wet  means 
that  it  will  not  hurt  us  by  losing."  My  interpretation  of  Rufe's  dream 
came  true. 

That  fall  the  Republicans  had  placed  Thos.  H.  Carter  in  nomin- 
ation against  W.  A.  Clark.  As  Montana  had  always  been  Democratic, 
with  the  exception  of  Wm.  H.  Claggett,  every  one  thought  that  Clark 
would  have  a  sure  thing  of  it.     The  result,  however,  proved  Thos.   H.  a 


68  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

winner.  The  reason  for  this  was  that  Marcus  Daly,  though  a  democrat, 
did  not  like  Clark.  Why  they  were  enemies,  neither  of  them  pretended  to 
know,  so  people  close  to  them  have  told.  The  fact  that  they  were, 
was  enough  to  place  Carter  very  much  before  the  people,  not  alone  of 
Montana,  but  the  United  States.  I  desired  to  hear  this  man,  who  was 
to  lead  the  Republican  party  to  victory,  so  I  went  to  Dillon,  80  miles. 
I  was  introduced  to  "Tom"  by  Judge  Brown,  as  the  Republican  war- 
horse  of  the  Big  Hole."  I  suppose  the  Judge  must  have  thought  a  fellow 
was  a  "war-horse"  who  could  survive  the  speeches  of  himself  and  Henri 
J.  single-handed  and  alone.  I  listened  to  Carter  that  night,  and  went 
with  the  Dillon  delegation  the  next  day  to  Glendale.  At  that  place  we  had 
a  large  rally,  speaking,  with  a  dance  afterward  at  the  rink.  Finley 
Cunnard  and  I  walked  to  Melrose,  five  miles  distant,  for  a  place  to  sleep. 
The  Republicans  won  that  year  in  good  shape  and  Judge  Brown  got  the 
boundary  survey  bill  through.  As  it  provided  for  a  commissioner  from  each 
county,  to  look  after  the  work,  with  pay  at  $8.00  per  day,  he  wrote  and 
asked  if  I  would  accept  the  office  from  Beaverhead.  Sheriff  A.  O.  Rose 
was  at  my  place  that  night  and  advised  me  to  accept.  I  was  going  for  a 
visit  to  Minneapolis  and  other  places  in  Minnesota,  over  the  Great 
Northern  railroad,  and  went  out  with  Rose  to  Divide.  It  had  been 
years  since  I  had  been  in  my  native  state,  and  as  Jim  Hill  was  offering 
a  rate  of  $40.00  from  Butte  to  St.  Paul  and  return,  it  was  a  temptation. 
I  visited  Helena  a  day  going  and  two  or  three  on  my  return.  My  trip 
east  was  enjoyable  in  a  way,  would  have  been  more  so  if  I  could  have 
taken  Hattie  and  the  children.  I  visited  my  Uncle  Ira,  father's  brother, 
also  his  sister,  Sarah,  at  St.  Cloud,  besides  many  of  my  cousins.  My 
cousin,  Kate  Noyes,  went  with  me  to  Minneapolis,  to  see  my  mother's 
sister,  Almira  Broughton.  In  that  city  I  met  many  of  my  old  playmates. 
I  went  to  the  University,  saw  Mrs.  Mattie  Campbell-Wilkins,  my  old 
teacher  of  years  before  in  the  common  school.  Many  changes  had  taken 
place.  Pres.  Folwell  was  deposed.  Dr.  Northup  had  succeeded  him. 
Many  new  buildings  were  on  the  campus.  We  also  went  to  Farmington, 
Minnesota,  to  see  my  father's  sister,  Martha,  who  was  the  oldest  of  the 
family,  and  last  to  die;  returning  to  St.  Cloud  for  a  few  days  before  com- 
ing back  to  Montana.  My  Uncle  James  Jenks  was  then  alive.  I  had 
usually  spent  my  vacation  at  his  farm  near  Clear  Water,  Minnesota.  He 
was  a  surveyor,  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability.  I  recall  that  he 
had  an  excellent  memory.  For  instance:  One  could  repeat  a  couplet 
from  Scott's  "Lady  of  the  Lake"  and  uncle  would  quote  the  two  preceding 
or  two  following.  As  above  noted,  I  stopped  off  in  Helena.  Charles 
Stanchfield,  Geo.  Bailard,  Jay  Hern  and  Bill  Collins  had  taken  up  a 
considerable  piece  of  land  on  Lake  creek.  Big  Hole  Basin,  some  few 
years  before  and  gone  into  partnership.  Charlies  had  sent  a  nice  band  of 
dairy  cows;  the  California  boys,  Bailard  and  Hern,  were  not  much  used 
to  that  kind  of  work,  so  Charlie  made  up  his  mind  to  buy  them  out, 
also  buy  the  interest  Geo.  Tong  had  in  my  ranch.     This  was  the  busi- 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  69 

ness  that  detained  me  in  Helena.  Stanchfield  did  buy  the  Cahfornia 
boys.  He  and  I  together  bought  Geo.  Tong  by  giving  a  mortgage  on 
the  ranch  and  cattle  to  Tong.  When  the  county  commissioners  of 
Beaverhead  met  in  the  spring,  they  appointed  me  "Commissioner  of  Bound- 
ary Line  Survey."  Stanchfield  and  I  had  started  a  good  sized  dairy;  had 
a  market  in  Butte  for  our  butter.  In  July  the  commissioners  for  the  sur- 
vey, Capt.  Wyman  of  Silver  Bow,  Morgan  Evans  of  Deer  Lodge,  Henry 
Meyers  of  Missoula  and  myself  met  in  Anaconda,  to  consider  the  matter 
and  let  a  contract  for  the  work.  Gus  Kornberg,  a  young  German  en- 
gineer came  with  Capt.  Wyman,  as  no  other  engineer  put  in  a  bid  he 
got  the  contract.  I  proposed,  as  we  needed  pack  and  saddle  horses,  to 
buy  them.  We  could  sell,  when  through  with  them,  for  something  worth 
while,  and  the  counties  would  be  ahead  by  the  transaction.  This,  however, 
did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the  others.  A  price  of  $2.50  for  saddle 
and  $2.00  for  pack  horses  per  day  was  agreed  on,  as  this  was  what  the 
livery  men  would  ask.  Myers,  Evans  and  I  agreed  to  furnish  two  horses 
each.  We  adjourned  to  meet  at  Gregson's  Springs,  a  short  time  after,  to 
begin  actual  work.     It  was  quite  a  large  party  that  met  at  Gregson's 

Cook  tent,  one  for  the  men,  another  for  us.  Our  first  Sunday  several 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  Butte  took  dinner  with  us.  Sheriff  Lloyd  and  fan- 
ily,  Mr.  Chauvin,  wife  and  niece.  I  can  not  now  recall  all  of  the  men  who 
worked  that  summer  on  the  line.  Prof.  Geo.  Vogle  was  a  guest  of 
Morgan  Evans,  Kornberg  had  for  his  assistant  John  Heagle.  There  was 
a  cook,  packer,  chainmen,  rodmen,  axe  men,  etc.,  making  the  party  14 
strong  (not  to  count  the  packer's  feet,  which  were  actually  so  strong  his 
boots  afforded  no  protection  from  their  off ensiveness ;  in  fact  we  were 
compelled  to  do  without  his  services,  as  no  one  else  could  occupy  the 
same  tent.) 

It  would  make  quite  a  long  story,  that  one  of  1  08  days  over  almost 
impassable  mountains,  through  thick  timber,  in  one  of  the  dryest  and  most 
smoky  years  ever  seen  in  Montana.  Many  days  we  could  not  take  up 
the  work  on  account  of  smoke,  yet  the  expenses  were  busily  eating  into 
county  funds.  I  had  to  take  the  boys  into  the  almost  inaccessible  places, 
as  I  was  the  only  one  of  the  commissioners  who  did  not  carry  a  "silver 
crown."  There  was  much  hard  work  on  those  side  trips,  and  as  I  was 
the  cook  for  those,  the  boys  did  not  fare  any  too  well.  I  remember 
that  we  were  way  up  at  the  head  of  Seymour  creek,  under  the  grand  old 
mountain  peaks,  only  to  be  approached  with  pack  horses.  Provisions  were 
getting  low,  so  in  order  to  keep  the  boys  good  natured,  I  told  them  they 
should  have,  at  my  expense,  as  good  a  meal  as  could  be  had  in  Anaconda 
on  our  arrival  at  that  city.  We  continued  with  our  work,  planting  our 
flag  on  the  divide  of  the  main  Rockies.  We  must  go  to  the  camp  near 
French  Gulch,  thence  to  Anaconda  and  Rock  Creek,  miles  before  we  could 
again  pick  up  our  work.  It  was  Saturday  evening  when  we  arrived  at 
the  main  camp.  Sunday  our  Chinaman  cook  would  only  get  two  meals. 
The  boys  wanted  supp>er.  Chink  said  "No!"  and  rolled  into  his  blankets 


70  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX' 

and  would  not  get  up.  The  boys  proposed  to  hang  him.  I  objected  to 
such  a  procedure  and  they  did  not  molest  him.  We  got  our  own  suppers. 
The  next  morning  they  made  him  walk  to  Anaconda  and  carry  his 
blankets. 

On  our  arrival  at  Anaconda,  the  boys  reminded  me  of  my  promise 
made  at  the  camp  on  Seymour.  I  told  them  to  go  ahead  and  order 
what  they  wanted  and  I  would  pay  for  it.  There  was  five  of  them  at 
$1.50,  or  $7.50.  I  desire  to  record  this  just  as  it  was,  as  some  one  told 
my  Uncle  Charles  and  Geo.  Tong,  with  whom  I  was  doing  business, 
that  I  "blew  in"  $500.00  for  a  supper  for  the  outfit  in  Anaconda.  After 
leaving  Anaconda  we  went  to  East  Rock  creek,  picked  up  the  line  and 
run  to  Moose  Lake,  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  Rock.  The  night  we  arrived 
at  Moose  Lake  with  the  pack  outfit,  we  could  not  camp  there,  as  a  fire 
had  destroyed  all  the  feed,  hence  compelling  us  to  go  about  two  miles,  to 
the  West  Fork.  The  survey  party  did  not  see  our  sign,  so  they  camped 
on  the  banks  of  Moose  Lake,  without  bed  or  provisions.  They  were  a 
pretty  "sore"  bunch  when  we  found  them  the  next  morning.  We  were 
to  go  up  the  Middle  Fork  to  the  Main  divide,  thence  down  the  first 
stream  running  in  a  southerly  direction  to  the  Big  Hole  river.  I  was  sent 
to  "spy  out  the  land."  Lou  Larson  was  herding  cattle  that  summer  on  the 
"Rocks",  so  I  hired  him  to  go  with  me.  We  went  up  the  West  Fork 
to  the  head,  climbed  the  main  range,  and  were  able  to  see  the  Big  Hole 
We  had  our  horses,  that  day,  in  places  I  would  not  have  dreamed  pos- 
sible to  get.  We  arrived  late  at  camp  that  night,  near  Moose  lake.  The 
next  morning  I  started  for  the  Big  Hole.  Dug  Newcomer  went  as  far  as 
the  divide  with  me.  From  there  I  went  down  Pintler  creek  and  got  home 
about  1 0  p.  m.  Mrs.  Noyes  and  the  children  were  not  at  home,  being 
over  at  the  Armitage  ranch.  My  cousin,  Mr.  A.  L.  Broughton  of  Min- 
neapolis, was  there  also.  When  I  got  ready  to  start  back  I  invited  him  to 
go  with  me.  That  day  we  stopped  at  Billy  Teidt's  for  dinner,  on 
Pintler  creek.  Teddy  Roosevelt  had  had  his  camp  there  for  some 
time.  We  did  not  get  to  see  him,  as  he  had  left  a  short  time  before.  I 
remarked  to  Teidt  that  for  some  reason,  I  liked  Roosevelt,  though  I  had 
never  seen  him,  I  had  read  many  of  his  articles  in  the  magazines.  Teidt 
told  us  of  several  little  things  that  happened  while  Teddy  camped  there. 

One  night  he  was  standing  by  the  camp  fire,  having  just  come  in 
from  the  day's  hunt.  Clothing  all  in  rags,  in  fact,  sans  pants.  "Just  think 
of  it,"  he  said,  "I  am  one  of  the  400  of  New  York,  if  I  want  to  be." 
It  always  amused  Teidt  when  he  thought  of  what  a  figure  Teddy  would 
cut  in  New  York's  400  in  such  an  "evening  dress."  We  arrived  at 
our  camp  on  Rock  creek  in  good  season  that  night.  For  a  day  or  two 
afterward  we  had  some  snow.  We  continued  our  work  until  we  came 
to  the  sunmiit,  at  that  place  the  commissioner,  Myers  of  Missoula,  would 
leave  us;  Wm.  Dickerson,  who  was  with  him,  left  also.  Morgan  Evans 
and  his  friend  had  left  the  party  at  Moose  lake,  as  that  was  as  far  as 
Deer   Lodge   county   came  west.      We  erected   a   monument  on   the  pass 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  71 

between  the  heads  of  Rock  and  Pintler  creeks.  As  only  a  line  between 
Silver  Bow  and  Beaverhead  was  to  be  run,  Capt.  Wyman  and  I  were 
left  in  charge  of  the  work.  We  got  through  some  time  in  the  latter  part 
of  October.  I  had  been  out  1 08  days.  My  saddle  horse  cost  the 
county  $270  for  hire.  If  the  commission  had  accepted  of  my  proposal,  and 
bought  horses,  much  would  have  been  saved.  I  do  not  remember  of  a 
season  more  enjoyable  than  this  one.  The  weather  was  exceptionally  fine, 
and  the  boys  good  natured.  Kornberg  played  the  violin  exceptionally  well, 
George,  a  Tyrolese  peasant,  could  get  as  much  music  out  of  a  zither  as 
any  one  to  whom  I  have  listened.  Gus  Kornberg  made  money  in  some 
mine  in  Butte  not  many  years  after,  went  to  San  Francisco,  where  he 
spent  it.  He  returned  to  Butte,  where  he  died  a  few  days  after  his 
arrival.  He  was  a  very  bright  young  man,  a  graduate  of  some  German 
university. 

It  was  along  in  '89  that  F.  A.  Heinze  was  coming  into  the  lime- 
light. Though  only  a  boy,  he  was  successful  in  beating  Jim  Murray,  who 
seldom  came  out  on  the  losing  side.  The  old  town  of  Dewey's  Flat  was 
booming  those  days,  as  a  proof,  1 0  saloons  were  running  in  full  blast. 
Those  were  the  days  when  silver  mining  paid  a  little,  but  no  where  near 
as  much  as  people  unacquainted  with  the  matter  thought. 

I  went  to  Dillon  to  settle  with  the  county  commissioners.  Geo.  W. 
Bailard  went  with  me.  We  were  gone  about  a  week.  The  summer,  as 
before  mentioned,  was  exceedingly  dry.  Few  people  had  enough  hay  that 
year.  Snow  came  in  November,  but  not  deep.  One  man,  who  had  I  30 
head  of  cattle  in  the  upper  valley  to  begin  with,  came  out  with  six  the  next 
spring.  I  was  fairly  successful  with  ours.  I  kept  part  of  them  on  the 
hills  until  February.  Emil  Zorn  did  most  of  the  riding.  In  the  spring 
Charlie  Stanchfield  pulled  out  of  the  partnership,  taking  his  horses  and 
cattle,  leaving  me  the  ranch  and  indebtedness.  Maybe  I  could  have 
pulled  out  of  this  in  the  long  run,  but  as  Tong  was  behind  at  the  banks, 
I  did  not  want  to  continue  with  such  a  load.  In  those  days  cattle  were 
low  and  money  was  not  easy  to  get.  I  continued  to  keep  the  place  for  a 
time,  as  Tong  did  not  seem  inclined  to  take  it.  Certainly  I  worked  with 
no  hope  of  bettering  my  condition. 

The  postoffice  was  at  our  place,  Mrs.  Noyes  being  the  second 
postmaster  in  the  valley.  Emil  Zorn  continued  working  for  us.  He 
had  saved  some  money.  Mrs.  Noyes  had  bought,  with  money  taken  in  as 
postmistress  and  selling  meals,  a  few  steers  in  the  fall  of  1  890,  for  which 
she  got  a  fair  price  in  the  spring.  To  give  you  an  idea  as  to  prices  in 
those  days.  She  paid  from  $12.50  to  $18  for  good  two-year-old  stuff, 
selling  for  $38.00.  I  got  her  to  put  her  money  in  with  Zorn  and  start 
a  small  store  at  Wisdom,  I  think  in  the  summer  of  '91.  Loo  Pickett 
had  been  carrying  mail  from  Dewey's  to  Wisdom  for  some  time,  wishing 
to  dispose  of  it,  Zorn  and  I  became  the  owners  of  a  stage  line.  The 
mail  was  only  carried  twice  a  week  in  those  days,  and  either  Zorn  or  I 
did  the  driving.     The  little  stock  of  goods  helped  to  pay  expenses.     Being 


72  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

small,  little  could  be  expected  of  it.  In  the  winter  of  1891  Billy 
Packard  wrote  to  me  from  Murray,  Idaho,  that  he  wanted  to  come  and 
work  for  me  on  the  ranch.  Didn't  care  what  the  position  was,  only  wanted 
work  of  any  kind.  In  relation  to  this  letter  of  Billy's:  Some  time  before 
I  got  his  letter  I  had  a  dream  about  as  follows:  I  thought  that  Billy 
Packard  wrote  to  me  that  he  wanted  work,  would  like  to  take  charge  of 
the  dairy,  but  would  do  anything  I  had  for  him.  I  wrote  foi  him  to 
come.  He  came  and  took  charge  of  the  dairy  and  that  we  got  an  ex- 
ceedingly rich  lead  together.  Shortly  after  this  I  did  get  his  letter,  couched 
in  the  very  words  of  the  dream.  I,  of  course,  wrote  him  he  could  come. 
As  the  first  part  of  this  dream  came  true  in  every  particular,  I  thought,  to 
my  sorrow,  that  the  part  concerning  the  mine  would  also. 

As  hay  was  not  salable,  and  cattle  feeding  not  the  most  profitable 
industry  by  any  means,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  let  Mr.  Tong  take 
the  place,  and  I  would  attempt  something  else.  One  day  James  Mallory, 
of  the  firm  of  Bielenberg,  Walker  and  Mallory,  came  to  the  ranch  and  I 
sold  him  my  cattle,  100  head  for  $2,000,  check  made  payable  to  Geo. 
H.  Tong.  Mrs.  Noyes  had  some  cattle  and  a  few  horses.  She  and  Emil 
Zorn  bought  the  horses  that  belonged  to  the  Noyes  and  Tong  ranch  from 
Tong.  I  had  had  an  idea  in  my  head  for  some  time  that  I  would  like  to 
become  the  assessor  of  Beaverhead  county.  Yet,  as  I  was  down  and  al- 
most out,  I  hardly  felt  like  making  the  attempt.  Mrs.  Noyes  suggested, 
before  Mallory,  that  I  now  get  in  and  try  for  the  nomination  the  coming 
fall.  Jim  encouraged  me  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  advised  me  to  take 
a  chance.  When  the  Republican  convention  met  in  Dillon  I  was  on 
hand  and  received  the  nomination,  having  to  beat  Mikey  Henniberry,  the 
then  deputy  assessor  under  Dave  Reinhardt.  Will  Armitage  and  Jas. 
B.  Callen  were  with  me  as  delegates  from  Big  Hole.  After  returning 
home,  having  nothing  in  particular  to  do  until  the  campaign  opened.  Will 
Packard,  Fred  Myers  and  I  went  to  investigate  some  new  leads  that  had 
been  discovered,  in  the  upper  end  of  the  valley  by  Ed  Englesgjerd  and 
one  of  the  Daniels  boys.  Frank  Brown,  an  old  time  prospector,  was  at 
my  place  when  we  left,  and  as  he  was  soon  going  into  the  mountains 
again,  we  agreed  to  stake  each  other  in  if  anything  was  found  that  fall. 
Packard,  Myers  and  I  camped  on  a  branch  of  Bloody  Dick  creek  for 
the  night.  Soon  after  we  got  there  a  man  from  Colorado,  a  prospector 
also,  came  and  went  into  camp  with  us.  Some  time  the  summer  before  a 
man  had  fallen  from  a  cliff  on  Miner's  creek.  Some  of  the  people 
thought  that  there  had  been  foul  play,  as  Wm.  Christiansen  was  with 
him  the  day  he  was  lost,  and  they  had  discovered  what  was  supposed  to  be 
a  rich  lead.  The  party  that  came  to  our  camp  was  the  one  who  had  found 
the  remains  a  day  or  so  before.  The  next  morning  we  all  started  together 
to  find  Englesgjerd  and  Daniels.  While  walking  along  through  the  thick 
timber,  the  stranger  being  just  ahead  of  Myers,  Myers  saw  a  very  curiously 
wrought  handle  on  the  revolver  of  the  man,  which  was  in  a  scabbard. 
Fred's  curiosity  got  the  better  of  his  judgment,  for  he  reached  for  and  ex- 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  73 

tracted  the  gun.  As  soon  as  the  party  felt  the  hand  at  his  back,  he  jumped 
and  turned,  with  his  right  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his  knife..  Fred  was 
too  busy  looking  at  the  gun  handle  to  notice  the  look  and  action  of  the 
stranger,  who  finding  no  harm  was  intended,  answered  the  questions  put 
to  him  by  Fred  as  to  where  and  when  he  had  become  possessed  of  the 
treasure.  We  succeeded  in  finding  the  miners  and  after  making  some 
examination  we  came  to  the  conclusion  to  go  home.  Brown  was 
there.  I  explained  to  him  that  we  did  not  find  anything  worth  taking  up. 
He  said  that  he  had  not  found  anything  new,  but  he  wanted  to  give  me  an 
interest  in  a  claim  he  already  owned.  I  told  him  he  could  give  the  interest 
to  Mrs.  Noyes.  This  present  was  our  undoing,  but  of  it  more  later  on. 
It  came  time  for  us  to  be  out  and  doing,  for  the  campaign  was  on  for 
votes.  Thos.  F.  Hamilton  was  out  for  sheriff,  J.  G.  Shannon,  treasurer; 
T.  J.  Murray,  clerk  and  recorder.  We  made  a  party  that  went  all 
over  the  county.  Campaigning  in  those  days  required  the  expenditure  of 
too  much  money  in  saloons.  We  met  the  people  and  awaited  the  results 
of  election  day.  Judge  Everton  J.  Conger,  the  man  who  captured  Booth, 
was  running  for  county  attorney,  with  Edwin  L.  Norris,  later  governor,  as 
opponent.  The  judge  was  successful.  The  Republican  party  won  and 
I  would  be  assessor  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1 893.  As  we  would 
move  to  Dillon,  we  wanted  to  sell  our  interest  in  the  little  store.  We 
found  a  buyer  in  Alfred  J.  Turner,  who  did  not  have  any  money,  but 
gave  his  note  with  security.  The  400  acres  of  desert  land  belonging  to 
Mrs.  Noyes,  on  which  the  town  of  Wisdom  was  afterward  built,  together 
with  the  cattle  and  horses,  was  leased  to  Dug  Newcomer.  Just  aftM 
Thanksgiving  we  moved  to  Dillon.  Although  we  were  strangers  in  th" 
place,   we   soon   found   good   friends. 

On  January  1  st  I  was  sworn  into  office,  and  became  active  in  tiying 
to  learn  my  duties.  I  can  see  now  how  unwise  I  was  in  one  particular,  I 
talked  too  much.  My  reason  for  so  doing,  probably,  was  that  being  a 
stranger  to  the  conditions  and  asking  for  information  along  certain  lines 
somewhat  different  than  any  one  else,  some  of  the  fellows,  sneeringly, 
asked  if  I  could  do  what  others  had  never  attempted.  My  particular 
enquiry  was  concernmg  the  assessment  of  banks.  I  was  told  that  you 
were  only  allowed  to  do  certain  things  by  the  government.  As  an  ex- 
ample, a  bank  begins  business  with  a  capital  of  $50,000;  as  you  are  to 
assess  this  as  you  do  other  property,  you  would  put,  as  was  done  for 
years,  about  66  per  cent  as  the  assessable  value.  Now,  if  a  man  begins 
stock  raising  with  fifty  cows,  and  continues  in  that  business  for  a  number 
of  years,  he  certainly  increases  his  capital  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
assessor  comes  along  and  instead  of  assessing  the  66  per  cent  of  the  50 
cows,  he  no  doubt  finds  that  those  50  have  become  500.  Then,  to 
equalize  matters,  he  assesses  66  per  cent  of  500.  The  banker  begins,  as 
before  stated,  on  $50,000,  and  though  he  continues  in  a  more  suc- 
cessful business,  and  piles  up  undivided  profits,  the  ordinary  assessor  will 
continue  to  see  the  original  capital  for  his  consideration.      I  was  given  to 


74  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

understand  that  this  was  right.  I  did  not  believe  it,  so  made  as  much  of 
a  study  of  the  matter  as  I  could  and  did  attempt,  and  finally  succeeded 
in  doing  those  things  never  tried  before  by  any  prior  assessor.  Many 
of  the  men  possessed  of  means  were  up  in  arms — result,  much  excitement 
among  the  people  as  to  final  outcome.  I  want  to  say  that  I  had  no 
desire  to  cause  the  wealthy  trouble;  what  I  did  want  was  to  get  as  equal 
an  assessment  as  possible,  and  in  this  matter  saw  no  friend  or  foe. 

The  story  of  my  fight  for  what  I  considered  right,  can  be  found 
by  looking  over  the  records,  and  also  the  newspapers  of  that  date.  I 
came  before  the  people  in  such  a  way  that  it  made  them  recognize  me 
and  my  work.  I  met  many  pleasant  people,  who  sided  with  me,  giving 
good  advise  and  encouragement.  No  one  any  more  so  than  Edwin  L. 
Norris,  then  a  young  attorney,  and  Wason  M.  Oliver,  one  of  the  county 
commissioners.  I  was  not  successful  the  first  year,  but  intended,  more 
than  ever,  to  make  a  success  the  next.  Norris  once  said  to  me:  "I  ad- 
mire your  pluck,  but  not  your  common  sense;  you  can't  beat  these  fellows." 
I  told  him  that  I  should  continue  to  try  while  in  office,  and  so  got  results. 
My  time  being  about  to  close,  a  new  election  coming  on,  people  came  to  me 
said:  "You  have  been  foolish  to  antagonize  these  rich  men.  If  you  had 
gone  along  and  allowed  things  to  go  as  they  had  before,  you  could  have 
been  re-elected."  My  reply  always  was:  "The  people  of  Beaverhead 
county  are  not  fools,  they  can  see  who  has  been  working  for  their  interest, 
and  if  they  want  me  it  does  not  matter  what  the  rich  think  or  do."  Dur- 
ing this  term  of  office,  in  the  second  year,  I  think,  W.  F.  Packard,  J.  T. 
Murray,  T.  W.  Poindexter,  afterward  state  auditor,  and  I  bought  the 
mine  known  as  the  Ajax,  an  interest  in  which  had  been  given  to  Mrs. 
Noyes  by  Frank  Brown  two  years  before.  We  made  up  our  minds  to 
develop  it,  in  a  way.  We  cut  a  road  through  the  timber,  built  a  trail 
to  the  head  of  the  falls  and  put  up  an  arastra,  which  was  never  used,  and 
quit  work  for  the  fall.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Tommy  Poindexter  said: 
"You  get  in  and  run  for  the  office  again,  the  people  want  you."  As  he 
was  then  on  his  vv^ay  to  Dillon,  he  agreed  to  "note  the  lay  of  the  land." 

The  day  before  the  convention,  Callen,  Armitage  and  I  were  once 
more  in  Dillon.  My  information  was  not  of  the  most  encouraging  na- 
ture. Tommy  came  to  me  and  said:  "The  big  fellows  intend  to  down 
you."  This  placed  me  in  a  position  where  I  was  none  too  sure  of  myself. 
For  a  time  I  hesitated  about  allowing  my  name  to  go  before  the  conven- 
tion. Many  of  the  boys,  among  others,  Drs.  M.  A.  Miller  and  Leason, 
came  to  me  and  asked  if  I  had  lost  my  nerve.  They  said  they  would  get 
out  and  do  all  they  could  for  me  if  I  would  allow  my  name  to  go  before 
the  convention.  At  last  I  consented  and  the  fight  was  on.  Governor 
White,  one  of,  if  not  my  most  bitter  opponents,  was  elected  chairman.  He 
did  every  thing  he  could  to  defeat  me.  In  a  speech  to  that  convention  he 
remarked  that  they  had  "just  placed  Henry  Knippenberg  in  nomination 
for  the  legislature,  and  that  Henry  Knippenberg  would  not  run  on  the 
same  ticket  with  A.  J.  Noyes."     Armitage  arose  to  his  feet  and  asked 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX-  75 

Mr.  Knippenberg  if  that  was  so.  The  gentleman  did  not  reply.  The 
convention  adjourned  until  after  supper.  I,  with  Callen  and  Armitage, 
was  eating  in  the  cafe  when  Knippenberg  came  in  with  some  of  his  lieu- 
tenants, Mr.  Earl  being  one  of  them.  Mr.  Knippenberg  was  manager 
and  a  large  owner  in  the  Hecla  mines.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Knippenberg  saw 
me  he  said:  "How  is  Mr.  Noyes  feeling  tonight?"  "Not  very  well,  sir," 
I  replied.  "What  did  I  understand  you  to  say?"  he  asked.  "Not  very 
well,  sir,"  and  walking  over  to  his  table  I  continued:  "Who  is  Henry 
Knippenberg  that  he  refuses  to  run  on  the  same  ticket  with  A.  J.  Noyes? 
I  want  you  to  understand,  sir,  that  in  spite  of  you  and  B.  F.  White,  I 
shall  succeed  myself;  I  have  taken  no  particular  interest  in  this  fight,  but 
shall  do  so  from  now  on."  I  was,  no  doubt,  emphatic  in  my  expressions 
to  him.  Mr.  Knippenberg  simply  said:  "Be  kind  enough  to  be  seated 
and  after  we  are  through  supper,  please  talk  to  Mr.  Earl.  I  can  say  no 
more."  Of  course  I  waited  for  them.  When  they  were  through,  Mr.  Earl 
took  me  by  the  arm  and  we  walked  up  the  street  toward  the  court  house 
together.  He  said:  "Noyes,  Mr.  K.  never  made  such  a  remark  about 
you ;  in  fact,  he  never  thought  of  such  a  thing.  He  was  taken  very  much 
by  surprise  when  he  heard  Governor  White  make  the  announcement.  Be- 
ing, as  he  is,  a  partner  in  the  bank,  he  did  not  feel  like  getting  up  and 
calling  White  a  liar,  but  this  much  I  say  to  you,  that  speech  has  lost 
White  the  Hecla  delegation.  They  have  been  voting  for  you  ever  since 
and  will  continue.  You  will  receive  the  nomination."  I  thanked  Mr. 
Earl  for  his  kindness  and  sent  my  regrets  to  Mr.  Knippenberg  and  did 
not  go  near  the  convention  hall.  The  fight  was  bitter,  long  drawn  out. 
It  must  have  been  1 0  p.  m.  before  I  received  the  nomination  and  the  con- 
vention adjourned. 

J.  E.  Morse  told  me,  the  next  morinng,  that  he  was  in  the  back 
part  of  the  room,  that  White  came  to  him  with  a  face  as  white  as  his 
name,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  said:  "Morse,  that  fellow  has  given  me 
the  first  beating  I  ever  had  in  my  life."  I  record  this  here  because  I 
am  proud  that  the  people  of  Beaverhead  county  stood  for  me,  no  doubt 
believing  my  work  was  for  them  and  not  for  a  favored  few.  So  once 
more  my  name  was  before  the  people,  making  it  possible  for  me  to  suc- 
ceed myself  in  the  assessor's  office.  I  was  elected  by  a  good,  large  ma- 
jority and  proceeded  along  the  same  lines. 

C.  E.  Stanchfield  had  not  been  successful  in  his  business  affairs, 
and  had  given  a  mortgage  to  Mr.  Ralph  Davidson  of  La  Porte,  Indiana, 
on  his  Big  Hole  land.  I  induced  J.  E.  Morse,  a  prominent  merchant  of 
Dillon,  to  go  in  with  me  and  buy  from  Davidson,  who  had  foreclosed, 
this  2520  acres  of  land  for  $5,600.  This  was  my  last  year  in  the  office. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  me  in  the  valley.  Horses  had  be- 
come a  drug  on  the  market,  so  J.  E.  and  I  bought  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
T.  H.  Hamilton,  of  Horse  Prairie,  their  band  of  horses,  good  ones,  too, 
consisting  of  220  head,  suckh'nes  thrown  in,  at  $5.00  per  head.  I  after- 
ward sold  to  Morse  and  Selway   100  head  of  these  at  $3.75  per  head. 


T6  THE   STOIIY   OF  "AJAX" 

During  my  term  of  office  I  met  Governor  Rickards,  at  his  request, 
and  was  introduced  to  the  members  of  the  state  board  of  education  as  the 
one  assessor  in  Montana  who  was  not  afraid  to  do  his  duty.  After  my 
work  was  done,  in  July,  Mrs.  Noyes  and  I  moved  to  the  ranch,  after- 
ward known  as  the  Ajax,  to  make  our  home.  J.  T.  Armitage  and  A.  J. 
Turner  had  put  up  a  corral  and  some  cabins  for  us  the  winter  before. 
As  before  mentioned,  my  property  had  gone  to  G.  H.  Tong  before  I 
was  elected  the  first  time,  so  I  did  not  have  any  to  put  into  this  ranch. 
Mrs.  Noyes  had  1 00  head  of  cattle  and  other  property,  horses,  etc., 
amounting  in  all  to  about  $4,000,  besides  the  400  acres  of  land  near 
Wisdom.  Although  the  cabin  was  not  large,  in  fact,  1 8x24,  we  did 
not  refuse  to  entertain  any  one  who  came.  During  the  summer  the  Rev. 
Walter  Hayes,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Dillon,  came  and 
received  a  nice  bed  in  the  hay  corral,  as  the  night  was  warm.  That  was 
the  year  1  896,  and  of  course  an  election  was  on.  Late  in  the  fall  four 
gentlemen  drove  up  in  the  afternoon  and  wanted  accommodations  for  the 
night.  We  told  them  we  had  lots  of  room,  and  could  accommodate 
them.  My  wife  had  two  beds  in  the  room,  on  which  there  was  quite  a 
lot  of  extra  bedding.  As  the  time  came  to  retire,  the  gentlemen  asked 
where  they  were  to  sleep.  I  explained  that  Mrs.  Noyes  would  attend  to 
that.  She  proceeded  to  make  a  "field-bed"  on  the  floor,  the  reason  for 
so  doing  not  appearing  clear  to  our  guests.  I  requested  them  to  step  out 
of  doors  a  few  minutes  and  I  would  tell  them  where  to  sleep.  This  was 
of  course,  to  give  Mrs.  Noyes  a  chance  to  retire.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  we  all  had  to  sleep  in  the  same  cabin,  as  it  was  too  cold  in  the  hay 
corral.  These  gentlemen  were  all  elected  that  fall.  Since  then,  J.  B. 
Poindexter,  who  was  one  of  them,  has  become  district  judge,  and  another, 
Edwin  L.  Norris,  the  governor  of  the  state. 

I  have  given  these  incidents  to  illustrate  what  a  "pioneer  woman" 
could  and  would  do  without  any  apparent  trouble  to  herself.  My  work 
was  to  be  the  up-building  of  a  large  ranch.  It  is  no  small  job  to  take 
several  thousand  acres  of  raw  land  and  subdue  it  so  it  would  produce 
good  crops.  That  first  season  we  cut  something  over  500  tons  of  hay. 
Mr.  Morse  bought  cattle  of  John  Snooks,  who  lived  on  the  Salmon 
river.  Cattle  were  not  high  that  fall,  so  good  beef  steers  sold  the  next 
spring  for  $38.00  per  head.  We  had  borrowed  $1,000  of  Wm.  Roe. 
Mr.  Morse  and  family  spent  part  of  the  winter  in  Los  Angeles.  Before 
making  the  trip  he  had  arranged  to  borrow  from  Mr.  Roe  $4,000  with 
which  to  buy  cattle  the  coming  spring.  When  Mr.  Morse  returned  I 
sent  him  a  check  to  pay  to  Mr.  Roe  the  money  above  mentioned. 

Some  time  in  April  Mr.  Morse  requested  me  to  come  to  Dillon  and 
go  with  him  to  the  Ruby  valley  and  look  at  some  stock  cattle.  We 
went  to  Sheridan,  thence  up  the  Ruby,  where  we  purchased  or  contracted 
for  two  bands  of  cattle  of  Gus  Smith  and  Wm.  Maloney,  for  future  de- 
livery. I  returned  to  the  ranch,  as  the  cattle  could  not  be  taken  over  the 
divide  until  May.      When  I  went  to  receive  the  cattle  Mr.  Roe  made  up 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  77 

his  mind  that  he  wanted  a  mortgage  on  all  the  stock  we  had  bought,  as 
he  felt  "sore"  toward  me  for  an  assessment  made  of  his  property.  Mr. 
Morse  explained  what  Mr.  Roe  wanted.  I  told  him  to  tell  Mr.  Roe 
that  we  would  not  need  his  monej-.  Morse  said:  "You  are  pretty  in- 
dependent, aren't  you?"  "Yes,"  1  said,  "we  have  250  head  of  catde 
on  that  ranch  and  do  not  owe  for  them,  and  I  will  not  borrow  money 
to  buy  more  and  give  anyone  a  mortgage."  Morse  asked  if  I  would 
accept  money  from  White.  I  told  him  I  would,  if  it  could  be  obtained. 
I  had  not  asked  Governor  White  for  money,  as  he  had  become  so  bit- 
terly opposed  to  the  manner  in  which  I  had  conducted  the  assessor's  office 
that  he  would  not  speak  to  me  on  the  streets.  Morse,  however,  explained 
the  matter  to  White,  as  to  the  feeling  engendered  toward  Roe  by  me 
and  also  told  him  we  needed  the  money  to  finish  paying  for  cattle  for 
which  we  had  already  contracted.  White  gave  us  a  credit  of  $5,000,  so 
we  took  the  cattle  home.  After  haying,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  buy 
more,  as  they  "looked  good  to  us."  I  made  a  trip  over  into  the  Bitter 
Root  and  purchased  550  head  while  over  there;  Mrs.  Noyes  and 
the  children  made  the  trip  with  some  of  the  other  Big  Hole  neighbors. 
We  camped  for  a  while  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Will  McCoy  and  had  a  nice 
visit.  McCoy  is  now  the  oldest,  or  has  served  the  government  as  range 
rider  longer  than  any  other  man.  We  bought  cattle  on  Red  Rock  and 
other  places.  A  car  load  of  full  blood  Hereford  bulls  of  Kohrs  and 
Bielenberg  of  Deer  Lodge.  We  had,  before  this,  purchased  of  Chas. 
Deputy  two  fine  Herefords,  shipped  by  him  from  Illinois.  You  must 
remember  that  we  had  only  gotten  a  five  thousand  credit  of  White,  but 
by  fall  we  owed  him  $19,000.00,  and  by  spring  $27,000.00.  That 
did  not  make  any  difference  to  him,  as  cattle  were  going  up  and  we  had 
bought  them  right.  I  had  not  been  able  to  feed  all  this  stuff  on  the  Ajax 
ranch,  and  so  my  outside  feed  bills  amounted  to  $6,500.  The  fall  of 
1 898  we  had  1 ,200  stock  cattle  and  probably  350  calves.  I  did  not 
believe  that  money  could  be  made  in  running  stock  cattle  at  such  a  high 
altitude,  as  too  many  calves  would  be  apt  to  perish  from  cold  at  birth. 
I  proposed  to  Mr.  Morse  that  we  sell  and  pay  our  debts,  and  then  run 
the  place  on  more  conservative  lines.  We  could  have  sold  for  $36,000.00, 
which  would  have  been  enough  to  pay  up  everything,  clearing  2,520 
acres  of  land  inside  of  two  years  from  the  time  I  had  assumed  the  man- 
agement. This  would,  also,  have  given  Mrs.  Noyes  and  Mr.  Morse 
the   original    money   they   invested. 

Mr.  Morse  said  he  did  not  consider  that  a  wise  proposition,  and 
he  would  not  consent  to  it.  Not  many  years  after,  when  we  were  strug- 
gling to  make  both  ends  meet,  he  said:  "Why  in  the  name  of  God 
didn't  you  take  the  bull  by  the  horns,  and  do  as  you  pleased,  when  you 
wanted  to  sell  those  cattle?"  I  allowed  him  to  dominate  in  this  case, 
very  much  against  my  judgment,  lo  my  sorrow.  I  told  my  wife  that  I 
could  see  the  beginning  of  the  end,  if  one  was  to  run  stock  cattle  in  the 


78  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

Big  Hole.     That  fall  we  sold  our  steers  to  Martin  Sorensen  for  $30.00 
per  head — yearlings  up,  600  of  them. 

"Mother"  and  I  made  up  our  minds  to  take  a  "wedding  trip." 
We  attended  the  exposition  at  Omaha  and  certainly  enjoyed  ourselves. 
We  were  there  "McKinley  day"  and  got  a  glimpse  of  the  president. 
We  had  as  companions  Mrs.  Wm.  Orr,  two  sons,  Chas.  and  John,  and 
E.  L.  Poindexter,  now  the  editor  of  the  Dillon  Examiner.  After  I 
returned  from  Omaha  we  made  up  our  minds  to  ship  some  old  cows  to 
that  place,  also  try  the  market  for  horses  some  place  in  Iowa.  Chas. 
Deputy  was  to  ship  some  steers,  Anderson  Bros.,  horses.  "Jimmie  the 
Tink"  was  with  Deputy.  The  experience  was  new  to  Deputy  and  me. 
When  we  were  about  to  leave  Dillon,  a  young  man  came  and  wanted 
to  go  with  me.  I  asked  for  transportation  for  him,  but  did  not  get  it. 
The  young  fellow  said  he  had  some  money,  but  did  not  wish  to  spend 
it  on  railroad  tickets.  When  we  arrived  at  Cheyenne  he  stepped  up  and 
shook  hands  with  me.  He  had  succeeded  in  beating  his  way,  making  as 
good  time  as  we  did.  Our  run  from  Cheyenne  to  Omaha  was  made  in 
28  hours.  We  disposed  of  our  stock  in  the  morning  and  in  the  afternoon 
I  got  out  on  a  fast  meat  train,  but  was  side-tracked  at  Council  Bluffs 
for  several  hours.  I  arrived  late  Saturday  night  at  Grand  Junction, 
where  we  were  to  sell  the  car  of  horses.  Early  in  the  morning  I  went 
to  the  stock  yards  and  moved  my  horses  to  the  corral  for  feed.  Leaving 
instructions  with  the  lively  man  as  to  advertising  the  sale,  etc.,  I  went  to 
Des  Moines  to  see  Geo.  Redhead,  then  a  very  successful  breeder  of 
Herefords,  who  had  owned  the  bull  "Ancient  Britton,"  to  buy  some  full- 
blooded  cattle.  The  Thorpe  Live  Stock  company  had  requested  me  to 
get  some  Shorthorns  for  them,  as  had  the  Centennial  Cattle  Co.,  a  re- 
quest for  Hereford  bulls.  Redhead  was  a  very  nice,  accommodating 
gentleman.  He  took  me,  on  Thanksgiving  day,  to  see  the  shorthorn 
herd  of  Martin  Flynn,  of  whom  I  bought  stock  for  the  Thorpe  people. 
I  made  a  trip  to  Marshalltown  to  see  Governor  Packard,  a  Hereford 
breeder,  and  bought  some  bulls  for  the  Centennial  Cattle  company.  In 
the  meantime,  I  had  attended  the  horse  sale  at  Grand  Junction.  It  was 
certainly  an  off  year  in  Iowa  for  horses,  as  after  paying  car  fare  and  in- 
cidentals, we  only  had  $4.00  per  head  left.  I  found  a  young  man 
who  was  willing  to  take  my  car  load  to  Montana,  providing  I  could  give 
him  a  position  for  the  winter,  which  I  did,  on  the  "Highland"  ranch. 
As  to  this  particular  ranch:  It  could  not  have  been  much  over  a  year 
after  we  had  taken  over  the  Ajax  when  Mr.  Morse  and  I  rode  over  some 
bench  land  several  miles  north  of  the  Ajax,  which  appeared  to  us  as  an 
exceptionally  good  place  for  a  large  stock  ranch.  We  did  not  have  the 
money  with  which  to  float  the  scheme.  We  did  make  several  attempts 
to  secure  it,  but  were  not  successful  for  some  time.  I  happened  to  be  in 
Governor  White's  bank  one  day  and  mentioned  the  subject  to  him.  I 
did  not  talk  long  until  he  agreed  to  finance  the  affair.  Senator  Norris 
later  governor,  wanted  to  go  into  the  company,  on  Morse's  description  of 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  79 

the  conditions.  He  did  not  have  the  money,  unless  it  could  be  gotten  in 
some  way;  for  instance,  like  getting  it  from  White.  I  stepped  out  of  the 
bank  and  met  Morse  and  Norris  going  home  to  lunch.  I  soon  explained 
that  I  had  an  important  business  engagement  for  them  at  1  :30  o'clock 
with  the  governor.  I  told  them  that  he  had  agreed  to  get  behind  us  on 
the  "Big  Bench"  matter.  We  were  on  time  at  the  bank  and  talked  the 
affair  over,  with  the  result  that  we  incorporated  a  company  known  as  the 
"Highland  Water  Co."  When  we  left  the  bank  Morse  and  Norris  both 
remarked  that  they  did  not  see  how  I  happened  to  be  able  to  talk  Governor 
White  mto  putting  up  $20,000  on  such  a  scheme.  Morse,  in  particular, 
remarked:  "Al  Noyes,  if  any  one  had  told  me  you  could  talk  the 
governor  into  this  thing,  I  would  have  called  him  crazy."  Norris  and  I 
walked  up  the  street  toward  his  office,  meeting  Mr.  Roe,  who  walked 
back  to  his  bank  with  us.  I  supposed  he  wanted  to  see  Norris,  as  he 
was  attorney  for  the  bank,  so  excused  myself  and  started  to  walk  off 
when  Mr.  Roe  said:  "We  would  like  to  talk  to  you  a  moment  in  our 
bank  if  you  have  time."  This  was  surprise  No.  2  that  day.  The  first 
was  when  I  could  get  a  man  like  Governor  White  to  become  the  backer 
of  an  enterprise;  a  man  who  had  done  all  he  could  to  defeat  me  for 
office  a  few  years  before,  and  who  would  not  speak  to  me  when  he 
met  me  on  the  street,  and  second,  Mr.  Roe,  who  had  become  somewhat 
embittered  on  account  of  one  of  my  assessments,  as  before  mentioned, 
who  had  not  spoken  to  me  for  some  time,  now  requesting  me  to  come  into 
his  bank  that  they  might  get  my  opinion  and  advice  as  to  whom  to  loan 
money  in  the  Big  Hole.  As  the  Highland  enters  more  or  less  into  my  life, 
mention  will  be  made  of  it  later  on.  Before  I  forget  it,  I  will  say  that 
Edwin  Norris  and  I  agreed  to  taboo  politics  from  the  beginning  of  that 
partnership,  with  what  results  will  be  noted  later  on. 

My  friend.  Tommy  Poindexter,  than  whom  few  better  men  ever 
lived  in  Montana,  became  state  auditor.  Norris  was  quite  an  active 
figure  in  the  convention  when  Tom  received  his  nomination.  When  they 
returned  to  Dillon,  Tom  told  me  :  "That  fellow  Norris,  if  he  holds 
his  head,  will  have  everything  coming  that  the  people  can  give  any  one 
politically."  As  Morse  and  I  were  branching  out,  we  needed,  we  thought, 
some  pasture  land.  As  the  state  could  select  land  for  rental  purposes. 
Col.  L.  J.  Price  and  I  went  to  Helena  and  interviewed  the  state  board 
of  land  commissioners,  and  got  their  consent  to  have  Mr.  Henry  NeilK 
state  land  agent,  to  look  over  the  land,  and  if,  in  his  opinion,  he  thought 
proper  to  select  it  he  could  do  so.  There  was  no  trouble  in  getting  the 
land;  the  next  thing  would  be  several  miles  of  fence  with  which  to  en- 
close it.  A  young  man,  Clarence  H.  Strowbridge,  took  the  contract  to 
build  the  fence.  Morse  and  I  had  bought  all  the  interests  held  by  others 
in  the  Ajax  mine,  had  done  some  representing,  nothing  more.  We  leased 
and  bonded  it  to  a  party,  who  never  did  any  work.  It  was  during  that 
time  that  "Deafy"  Thompson  killed  "Dutch  Gus,"  in  one  of  the  cabins 
near  the  mine.     They  had  had  a  little  trouble,  so  Jim  made  his  bed  out- 


80  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

doors.  Gus  occupied  the  cabin.  One  morning  Jim  came  in  before  Gus 
was  up  and  enquired  about  the  coffee.     "I'll  give  you  all  the  coffee  you 

want,  you ,"  said  Gus,  and  pulling  up  his  rifle  took  a  shot 

at  Jim,  which  just  missed  his  head  and  lodged  in  the  side  of  the  cabin — 
years  afterward  one  of  my  boys  dug  out  the  bullet.  Jim  started  to  get 
out,  as  Gus  was  trying  to  get  another  shot,  with  the  result  he  closed  the 
door  from  the  inside  and  was  too  much  excited  to  open  it,  as  all  this  time 
Gus  was  trying  to  get  another  cartridge  into  the  gun,  Jim  happened  to 
see  on  a  shelf  his  six  shooter,  which  he  grabbed  and  put  an  end  to  Gus' 
activities.  Jim  went  to  Jackson  and  gave  himself  up,  telling  what  he  had 
done.     Someone  said:      "Maybe  the  man  isn't  dead,  Jim."     "Yes  he  is; 

I  looked  at  hira;   he  is  as  dead  as  h 1,"   replied  Jim.      Several  men 

accompanied  "Deafy"  back  to  the  scene  of  the  tragedy.  They  found 
everything  just  as  he  had  told  them.  At  this  season  of  the  year  there  is 
always  snow  in  the  mountains  in  this  vicinity,  at  that  time  there  was  no 
road  up  the  hill,  nothing  but  a  trail,  and  the  snow  up  to  the  waist.  It 
was  found  impossible  to  carry  the  corpse,  so  the  only  alternative  was  to 
drag  it.  They  tied  a  rope  about  the  feet  and  began  the  journey.  Hauling 
a  person  or  body  in  this  way  caused  too  much  friction,  so  said  this  party, 
so  some  one  suggested  they  put  the  rope  around  the  neck.  This  was 
done,  and  the  body  moved  more  freely.  In  fact,  it  moved  too  rapidly, 
as  it  slid  down  the  mountain,  passmg  on  one  side  of  a  tree  while  the 
men  went  by  on  the  other  side.  They  say  that  in  this  way  the  neck  became 
dislocated,  hence  much  longer  than  it  should  have  been.  In  due  time 
Gus  was  taken  to  Jackson  and  interred ;  Jim  was  exonerated.  Years  after 
Frank  Conway  wrote  "The  Ghost  of  the  Ajax,"  a  story  that  caused  con- 
siderable comment. 

Wisdom. 

As  before  stated,  when  I  moved  to  Dillon,  in  1  892,  to  take  the  office 
of  county  assessor,  we  sold  our  interest  in  the  little  store  to  Alf.  Turner. 
Alf  did  not  stay  long  in  the  business,  as  he  got  a  chance  to  get  rid  of  his 
share  to  Frank  Housel,  who  later  disposed  of  his  interest  to  Emil  Zorn. 
Zorn  having,  in  the  meantime,  gotten  married  to  my  wife's  old  friend,  Allie 
Rutledge,  built  a  new  house  on  a  homestead  close  to  the  old  Noyes 
place  and  started  a  hotel.  He  also  put  up  a  new  store  building,  with 
a  hall  for  public  meetings  up  stairs.  Emil  was  making  money  pretty 
fast  with  stage,  hotel  and  store,  but  like  many  others,  wanted  to  gather  in 
the  dollars  faster,  so  began  placer  mining  at  the  little  camp  above  the 
battle  ground.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  go  into  the  hole  enough  to 
place  his  business  matters  in  jeopardy.  A  drummer,  W.  A.  Frances, 
had  been  in  the  Big  Hole  and  thought  he  saw  a  chance  for  the  building 
up  of  a  future  business  at  the  Zorn  place,  so  he  got  J.  P.  Lossl  of 
Pioneer  to  go  in  with  him  and  purchase  the  business.  Zorn  went  at  any- 
thing he  could  get  to  do  for  a  time,  as  there  was  not  a  lazy  bone  in  his 
body,   always   looking   for   something   better,   which   he   found   in   a   piece 


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HATTIE  M.  NOYES 
FOUNDER  ()(•■  WISDOM.  MONTANA 


THE   STORY   OF  -AJAX"  81 

of  land  in  the  Bielenberg  and  Walker  lower  ranch.  He  located  a  desert 
claim  on  this  and  went  to  work  improving  it.  Shortly  after  he  met  with 
the  misfortune  of  the  loss  of  his  wife,  leaving  two  nice  Httle  girls  to  his 
care.  Not  even  daunted  by  this  unkind  act  of  nature,  he  continued  on  with 
his  work,  paid  his  indebtedness  and  made  a  success. 

While  I  was  in  Dillon  I  had  tried  to  interest  the  Eliel  Bros,  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  the  Big  Hole.  They  had  had  a  store  at  Dewey's, 
also  one  in  Gibbonsville,  Idaho,  and  did  not  appear  to  be  doing  as  well 
as  they  should.  I  suggested  that  they  use  the  two  stocks  of  goods  at 
these  places  at  Wisdom  and  build  up  a  good  trade,  as  the  valley  was 
bound  to  grow,  and  the  mining  camps  were  bound  to  die.  Mr.  Leonard 
Eliel  said  that  they  had  never  made  a  successful  venture  outside  of 
their  home  place,  and  guessed  that  he  would  not  take  any  chance  on  the 
Big  Hole.  Years  after  he  said  that  he  was  sorry  that  he  had  not 
taken  my  hint  in  the  matter,  as  the  indications  were  good  for  a  splendid 
trade. 

While  Emil  Zorn  was  in  business  he  hired  Owen  Ellis  to  drive  team 
for  him,  and  also  gave  him  the  privilege  of  putting  in  a  little  stock  of 
liquor.  This  business  soon  became  large  enough  for  the  undivided  atten- 
tion of  Owen,  and  he  opened  up  a  saloon  in  our  old  home,  to  build  a  cabm 
for  it  later  on  near  the  store.  As  the  postoffice  had  been  at  or  near  Wis- 
dom for  some  time,  all  the  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  were  held  there. 
One  Fourth  people  came  from  all  over  the  valley,  and  some  from  Gibbons- 
ville, Idaho.  The  land  belonged  to  Geo.  H.  Tong,  J.  P.  Lossl  and  Mrs. 
Noyes.  A  lane  was  built  through  Mrs.  Noyes'  place,  according  to  an 
old  survey,  and  a  bridge  was  built  across  the  river  by  Will  Armitage 
for  the  county.  The  land  in  the  northeast  corner  of  her  tield  was  high 
and  dry,  and  of  little  value.  This  particular  July  day  Johnnie  Mc- 
Kinzie  of  Gibbonsville,  my  old  friend  that  gave  me  my  breakfast  that 
August  morning  in  ^11  on  Divide  creek  when  I  was  hunting  Indians,  wanted 
to  know  how  much  we  would  take  for  a  piece  of  land  large  enough  to 
build  something  like  a  saloon  or  hall  on.  I  had  offered  Frances  and 
Lossl  the  whole  400  acres  of  land,  with  $1,600  worth  of  fencing  on  it, 
for  $1600,  and  they  would  not  listen  to  it,  so  when  McKinzie  broached 
the  subject,  I  made  up  my  mind  at  once  to  lay  out  a  townsite  on  a  few 
acres  of  that  dry  ground.  Clarence  Strowbridge  had  been  running  an 
ice  cream  and  fruit  stand  that  day,  and  the  morning  of  the  fifth,  just 
before  I  got  ready  to  go  to  the  Ajax  ranch,  I  asked  him  how  he  had 
done  the  day  before.  He  told  me  that  he  had  done  nicely.  I  then,  jok- 
ingly, said  to  him  that  I  was  going  to  lay  out  a  townsite  and  that  I  would 
give  him  $1,000  and  let  him  start  a  small  business  in  the  new  town  of 
Wisdom.  I  did  not  think  much  more  of  this  matter  that  day,  but  the 
next  morning  before  breakfast  Strowbridge  and  George  Bailard  were  at 
the  Ajax  ranch.  It  did  not  take  Strowbridge  long  to  inform  me  that  he 
came  up  to  see  if  I  were  joking  about  starting  him  in  the  little  business. 
I  told  him  that  it  was  said  in  a  joke,  but  as  he  had  taken  the  thing  so 


82  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

much  to  heart  I  would  try  and  carry  out  my  part  of  it,  providing  I  could 
get  the  money.  I  wrote  to  my  old  friend  Tom  Mulaney  of  Dillon,  and 
told  him  what  I  wanted  and  he  said  he  would  let  us  have  $1,000.  B.  R. 
Stevenson  was  told  to  go  ahead  and  survey  a  townsite.  I  then  made  a 
trade  with  the  Ponsonby  people  for  the  store  and  saloon  building  at  that 
place,  as  the  town  had  gone  to  the  "bow-wows."  The  buildings  would 
need  to  be  razed  and  the  lumber  hauled  to  Wisdom,  Strowbridge  to  use 
his  teams  to  do  the  hauling;  Mrs.  Noyes  was  to  put  up  the  building, 
part  of  which  was  to  be  used  as  a  hall,  balance  store,  kitchen,  dining 
room,  etc.  After  the  building  had  been  purchased,  Mulaney  told  Strow- 
bridge that  he  had  changed  his  mind  and  could  not  let  me  have  the 
money.  This  was  certainly  putting  us  in  a  very  disagreeable  position,  as 
we  had  spent  several  hundred  dollars.  I  went  to  Dillon  and  met  Tom, 
who  said.  "Say,  Al  Noyes,  did  you  depend  on  me  for  that  money?" 
"I  most  certainly  did,  Tom,  but  that  need  not  make  any  difference,  if 
you  can't  let  me  have  it  no  more  will  be  said  about  it."  "If  you  de- 
pended on  getting  that  money  from  me,  you  shall  have  it,  if  it  is  the  last 
thing  I  ever  do.  You  never  went  back  on  me,  and  I  am  gomg  to  stay  with 
you."  As  this  money  was  for  Mrs.  Noyes,  she  gave  Tom  security  for  it 
and  started  Strowbridge  in  the  Wisdom  Mercantile  company.  Bailard 
and  Newcomer  bought  a  lot  and  wanted  to  start  a  saloon,  but  did  not 
have  the  money,  so  I  got  Mulaney  to  loan  them  the  money  to  put  up  the 
"Old  Glory"  building.  The  particular  mistake  I  made  in  laying  out  the 
Wisdom  townsite  was  that  I  supposed  that  my  first  survey  was  correct, 
so  told  Stevenson  to  lay  it  out  in  that  place.  After  he  went  to  do  the  work 
he  found  that  the  old  corners  were  wrong  and  that  Tong  owned  part  of 
the  land  we  had  fenced.  Not  expecting  the  town  property  to  be  of  much 
value,  I  told  him  to  go  ahead  and  lay  out  a  street  on  the  east  on  her 
land,  and  the  lots  west  of  that.  This  gave  to  Owen  Ellis,  who  bought  the 
Tong  ranch,  the  whole  east  side  of  the  Main  street  in  Wisdom  and  cost 
us  a  loss  of  several  thousand  dollars.  The  town  continued  to  grow  slowly 
and  is  now  a  good  little  inland  place  with  three  good  sized  stores,  instead 
of  the  little  one  Mrs.  Noyes  and  Zorn  started  in  1891.  I  probably  had 
as  much  faith  in  the  future  of  Big  Hole  as  any  one  else,  and  recall  that 
I  had  predicted,  in  some  of  my  articles  to  the  county  papers,  that  it 
would  make  good.  In  building  up  a  new  section  of  country,  there  is 
much  of  an  exceedingly  pleasant  nature  that  will  enter  into  the  work 
and  make  you  feel  that  you  have  undertaken  a  grand  work;  not  alone 
for  your  betterment,  but  for  the  good  of  thousands  that  will  follow  you. 
That  June  morning  in  1 882  that  found  Mrs.  Noyes  and  myself 
for  the  time  being  almost  the  only  settlers  in  the  valley,  found  us  also  full 
of  hope  for  a  successful  answer  to  our  day  dreams.  We  looked  at  the 
grand  old  mountains,  the  flower-decked  valley,  listened  to  the  murmur 
of  the  river  on  its  hurried  way  to  the  sea,  and  thought  of  the  time  when 
we  could  go  again  into  the  world  where  people  lived  together  in  cities 
and  enjoy  the  blessings  made  possible  by  being  with   the  crowd.      The 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  83 

little  log  cabin  with  a  dirt  roof  and  dirt  floor  was  for  the  time  a  palace. 
It  -.vould  protect  us  from  the  heat  of  suntuner  and  the  cold  of  an  arctic 
winter.  It  held  two  hearts  filled  with  love,  or  at  least  with  the  imagina- 
tion of  love  strong  enough  to  hold  us  a  good  many  years  through  the  ups 
and  downs  of  an  earthly  existence  together. 

We  saw  the  possibilities,  but  did  not,  at  first,  think  that  many  would, 
in  our  life  time,  come  to  reap  the  reward  that  could  be  had.  We  were 
pleased  to  see  newcomers  and  always  extended  the  hand  of  welcome, 
no  matter  who  came  nor  how  many.  To  one  coming  on  foot  a  meal  and 
bed  was  ready  without  cost  and  probably  a  piece  of  money,  if  the  person 
deserved  it,  ere  he  left  the  ranch.  For  years  we  kept  open  house,  and  did 
not  think  of  making  a  charge.  To  satisfy  "Grandma"  Frances,  we  began, 
one  January  day  to  "keep  track"  of  the  number  of  meals  given  to  others 
for  the  year.  At  the  end  of  three  months  I  had  gathered  statistics 
enough  along  that  line  to  satisfy  myself  and  lost  interest  in  my  "bookkeep- 
ing," as  the  total  was  576  meals.  I  did  not  regret  then  nor  do  I  regret 
now  that  I  had  so  many  friends (?).  If  they  enjoyed  it,  we  certainly  did, 
and  that  ought  to  be  pay  enough  for  anyone.  In  those  early  days  the 
roads  to  Butte  were  simply  fierce.  In  fact,  we  did  not  have  any  road 
up  the  river,  although  we  did  manage  to  come  that  way.  We  could  ford 
at  Dewey's  or  go  over  the  "hill."  We  generally  went  over  the  hill, 
which  was  so  long  and  steep  that  a  team  was  pretty  apt  to  be  all  in  by 
the  effort.  I  remember  that  on  one  trip  Dave  Nickolson,  since  of  Bitter 
Root,  was  along  and  as  I  had  a  large  load  for  my  team  and  he  was  light, 
he  took  part  of  mine  and  hauled  it  two  days  for  me.  When  he  got  ready 
to  leave  the  road  to  my  place,  I  asked  him  how  much  I  owed  him  for 
the  trouble  and  this  was  his  reply:  "Whenever  you  meet  one  who  is 
overloaded,  take  part  of  his  load,  as  I  have  done  for  you,  and  that  will 
pay  me;  pass  it  along."  That  was  Dave,  ail  right,  and  I  hope  that  I  have 
so  lived  that  he  has  been  paid  in  full.     Do  I  make  it  clear? 

When  Sacajawea,  the  Indian  woman  with  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedi- 
tion, saw  from  the  bench  just  above  what  was  to  be  afterward  the  battle- 
ground of  Joseph  and  Gibbon,  the  glistening  dome  of  Old  Baldy,  she  knew 
where  they  were.  She  could  show  them  the  place  of  their  "cache"  of 
the  year  before,  as  she  had  been  with  her  people  in  this  valley  on  hunt- 
ing trips.  This  band  of  hardy  men,  under  Clark,  were  certainly  given  as 
grand  a  sight  that  morning  as  any  they  had  seen,  excepting  the  Pacific  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  They  had  endured  and  done  much  in  the 
journey  they  had  made  through  the  trackless  regions  of  the  northwest. 
They  were,  again,  over  the  real  rough  trail  of  the  mountain  lands,  ready 
to  set  afloat  their  boats  on  the  placid  waters  of  the  Beaverhead  and 
calmly  drift  to  St.  l^uis.  Probably  no  seer  among  them  predicted  the 
future  up-building  of  a  great  nation  in  this  big  wide  west.  They  had  been 
two  years  in  making  the  trip,  and  could  see  no  reason  why  man  would 
need  these  desert (>)  wastes  when  so  much  good  land  remamed  unclaimed 
on  the  other  side  of  the  "Father  ol    Waters."      It  was,  no  doubt,  a  sure 


84  THP:   story   of  "AJAX" 

thing  in  their  minds  that  the  beautiful  valley  they  were  in  would  not  be 
settled  for  years  and  years  to  come,  and  maybe  never.  They  had  no 
vision  of  Marshall  with  his  little  piece  of  yellow  metal  at  Sutlers  mill  in 
California  that  was  to  change  the  whole  face  of  this  western  continent  and 
make  it  the  mecca  of  thousands  from  every  land  of  the  big  round  world. 
They  could  not  see  the  miners  of  Florence,  Boise  and  Idaho  City  that 
would  try  their  luck  along  the  many  rapid  streams  tributary  to  the  Sal- 
mon, and  especially  the  ones  who  were  to  come  up  the  Dehlonaga  and 
find  the  hidden  treasures  of  Ruby,  the  beautiful  little  creek  at  their  feet. 
Nor  could  they  see  the  reason  why  millions  would  yet  be  taken  from  Ban- 
nack,  Hecla  and  French.  They  had  conquered  the  unknown  trail  to 
the  Pacific;  had  seen  the  land  of  the  Snake  and  Columbia,  and  had 
passed  one  winter  near  the  latter's  mouth.  That  far  land  where  flowed 
the  "Oregon"  could  never  be  much  to  the  United  States,  being  too  far 
away.  They  would  be  glad  once  again  to  see  the  people  in  St.  Louis 
and  especially  to  make  their  report  to  the  president  at  Washington.  They 
were  only  glad  to  look  on  the  beautiful  valley  at  their  feet  because  it  was 
a  place  one  day  nearer  the  end  of  the  journey.  When  this  party  separated, 
one  to  go  down  the  Missouri  and  the  other  to  go  to  the  Yellowstone,  they 
were  doing  so  simply  to  widen  their  knowledge  of  the  geography  at  the 
head  of  the  Missouri. 

The  finding  of  gold  at  Sutlers  mill  changed  the  whole  face  of  the 
west,  and  gave  rise  to  a  new  class  of  men — a  class  that  would  never 
again  die  out  until  the  whole  world,  known  and  unknown,  was  to  give  up 
its  treasures.  They,  the  prospectors,  were  to  search  out  the  hidden  places 
where  gold  had  lain,  uselessly,  since  the  "Beginning,"  and  with  trials, 
struggles,  heartburns  and  their  blood  itself,  would  bring  it  forth  to  the 
light  of  day  and  make  it  play  its  part  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  world  of 
business.  Seldom  did  the  prospector  retain  any  of  the  wealth  he  found. 
"Come  easy,  go  easy,"  was  what  governed  them.  The  whole  west 
was  a  treasure  house  in  their  minds,  and  there  was  no  use  in  saving  when 
you  could  find  an  Alder,  Confederate  or  Last  Chance  any  old  place  in 
the  mountains.  That  gold  is  yet  doing  good  and  bad,  depending  much 
into  whose  hands  it  has  fallen.  It  sends  the  steel  rail  hither  and  yon, 
and  builds  the  floating  palace  of  the  deep.  It  makes  the  world  beautiful 
by  its  expenditure  in  wonderful  structures  that  house  the  more  success- 
ful. It  cuts  away  the  mountain,  deepens  the  sluggish  stream,  makes 
islands  of  continents,  entraps  the  rushing  waters  that  would  leave  havoc 
in  their  wake  and  compells  them  to  nourish  the  thirsty  soil  and  leave  a 
rose  where  drifting  sand  once  made  a  desert.  It  enables  the  student  to 
find  out  the  hidden  secrets  and  use  the  knowledge  for  the  up-building  of  a 
race.  The  man  of  science  can,  with  its  help,  learn  how  to  drive  away 
many  of  the  ills  that  threaten  life  and  free  the  fevered  brow  from  pain. 
What  a  wonderful  thing  in  the  hands  of  him  who  knows  no  thought  of 
evil;  who  wills  that  each  dollar  he  spends  shall  uplift  his  race  and  send 
it   ahead  in  long  strides  to   a  plane   of   decency,   greatness   and  universal 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"    .  85 

happiness.  Better  to  be  an  optimist  than  a  pessimist,  better  to  go  through 
the  world  with  a  smile  than  a  frown,  better  to  write  of  the  good  that  gold 
can  do  than  to  tell  of  the  hellish  misery  it  has  wrought.  So  let  us 
back  once  more,  in  this  little  story,  to  the  time  when  the  prospectors  Cris 
Weaver,  his  brother,  and  others,  gazed  from  the  main  divide  on  the 
little  basin  at  the  head  of  Ruby.  I  do  not  know  how  this  man  Weaver 
happened  to  find  gold  in  Ruby,  and  only  know  from  my  old  friend  Lou 
Smith  of  Butte  that  is  was  Weaver  who  was  considered  the  discoverer. 

It  would  take  no  great  amount  of  imagination  for  anyone  to  go  back 
to  that  summer  in  1  862  and  find  that  mining  was  already  being  conducted, 
on  a  small  scale,  on  Dahlonaga  creek,  a  branch  of  the  North  Fork  of 
Salmon  river,  just  over  the  divide  from  Ruby.  The  prospector  of  those 
days  did  not  think  anything  of  a  several  mile  jaunt  in  his  hunt  for  a  place 
that  would  "pan."  No  doubt  Weaver  took  a  stroll  one  Sunday,  probably 
for  game,  and  found  gold  in  Pioneer  basin.  It  took  but  a  short  time  for 
the  news  to  go  to  others  and  soon  a  little  camp  was  in  full  blast,  washing 
the  yellow  metal  for  grub  stakes.  From  that  day  to  this  more  or  less 
gold  has  been  taken  out,  although  it  never  was  a  rich  section.  The  Big 
Hole  basin,  or  valley  proper,  did  in  no  way  appeal  to  these  miners  as  a 
place  of  residence,  and  most  of  them  left  as  soon  as  the  "Grasshopp>er 
Diggings"  were  discovered,  which  was  only  a  few  days  after.  I  have 
no  facts  at  hand  that  tell  me  as  to  the  lucky  man  who  found  pay  at  Ban- 
nack.  Some  say  White.  Mike  Steel  said:  "John  Smith,  Pat  Maloy  and 
Bill  Maloy  were  the  men."  Anyway,  the  late  Judge  Stapleton  of  Butte 
was  in  early.  People  that  were  going  to  the  Idaho  mines  came  to  Ban- 
nack  instead,  and  built  the  town  that  was  to  have  the  honor  of  being 
Montana's  first  capital.  I  did  not  get  to  Bannack  until  1 866,  so  was 
too  late  to  witness  the  lawlessness  that  held  sway  there  under  Henry 
Plummer  and  his  gang  of  toughs.  The  old  scaffold  on  which  Plummer, 
Ray  and  Stinson  were  hanged  January  1 0th,  1864,  was  up  the  gulch 
a  short  distance  from  our  house.  From  Mr.  Wm.  Roe  I  gleaned  the  fol- 
lowing facts  concerning  the  execution  of  these  men  (not  before  in  print, 
I  believe,  at  least  part  of  it  has  never  been). 

Roe  was  one  appomted  to  help  get  these  men.  One  was  at  a  dance 
on  Yankee  Flat,  and  Roe  and  some  one  else  went  for  him.  As  soon  as 
he  was  told  that  they  wanted  him,  his  wife  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck 
and  held  on  for  dear  life.  Roe  said:  "I  never  had  anything  as  hard  to 
do  in  my  whole  life  as  came  to  my  lot  then.  That  woman  standing  there 
with  her  arms  about  her  husband's  neck,  sobbing  pitifully,  tears  streaming 
down  her  cheeks  and  begging  us  not  to  take  him.  I  had  to  use  force  to 
remove  her  arms  and  hold  her  while  the  man  with  me  led  him  away." 
When  these  men  were  gathered  that  cold  night  under  the  scaffold,  they 
made  pleas  for  their  lives,  but  no  one  as  abjectly  as  Plummer,  the  ring- 
leader. Mr.  Roe  said  that  he  did  not  blame  them  in  the  least;  that  any- 
one, almost,  would  have  done  as  Plummer  did,  if  he  thought  a  talk  would 
have  given  him  his  liberty.     R.  P.  Eaton  captured  Ray  and  after  he  was 


86  THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX" 

hanged,  Mrs.  Ray  came  out  and  asked  him  where  her  Ned  was.  He 
replied;  "Your  Ned  is  ahight."  (This  man  Eaton  became  the  next  sheriff 
of  Bannack  District,  Idaho  territory).  I  will  try  and  give  in  Mr.  Roe's 
language  an  account  of  the  hanging  of  "Dutch  John:"  Mrs.  Ray  had 
been  given  her  husband's  body,  but  Plummer  and  Stinson  had  been  taken 
to  a  small  cabin  across  the  street  from  the  hotel.  This  cabin  was  not  yet 
completed,  as  the  chinking  and  dobbing  had  not  been  done.  There  was  a 
work  bench  on  which  Plummer  was  laid,  and  Stinsen  was  placed  on  the 
floor,  and  a  little  way  from  the  work  bench.  When  we  made  up  our 
minds  to  hang  John,  he  was  taken  to  this  cabin.  You  must  remember  that 
when  we  hung  the  others  it  was  very  cold,  and  it  was  probably  on  this  ac- 
count that  we  did  not  bury  them  at  once,  and  why  their  remains  had 
been  placed  in  the  cabin.  It  was  a  mighty  weird  sight,  the  dead  high- 
waymen lying  there;  the  band  of  stalwart  men  bent  on  doing  their  duty 
in  ridding  that  section  of  those  who  had  been  so  bold  in  their  deviltry,  and 
the  tall  form  of  "Dutch  John"  standing  there  dimly,  in  the  candle  light, 
on  a  dry  goods  box  that  was  to  be  used  as  the  drop  that  was  to  send  his 
soul  to  his  maker.  The  cabin  was  full,  and  when  the  box  yas  pulled 
from  beneath  John  we  all  surged,  the  light  went  out  and  my  heels  caught 
on  Stinson's  body,  and  to  keep  from  falling  I  threw  one  hand  out  and  it  fell 
on  Plummer's  frozen  face.  Jesus!  but  it  was  cold!  We  closed  the  door 
and  left  John  hanging  there  all  the  next  day.  It  was  probably  about  8 
or  9  o'clock  the  next  evening,  anyway  it  was  dark,  when  I  chanced  to 
look  toward  the  cabin  and  I  could  see  every  once  in  a  while  a  light  through 
the  chinks.  It  startled  me  for  a  moment,  but  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
investigate.  I  went  over  and  pushed  the  door  open  and  found  little  Davy 
Morgan  scratching  matches  and  looking  up  at  John.  'What  are  you  doing 
here,  Davy?'  I  asked.  'Say,  Bill,  I  just  came  over  to  see  the  bloody 
buggar,'  was  his  answer.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  Davy  was  "drunk." 
Years  after  this  same  Davy  cut  down  "Plummers'  Scaffold"  because 
some  of  the  fellows,  jokingly,  told  him  that  if  he  didn't  reform  they  would 
hang  him  on  it.  I  recall  that  during  a  political  campaign  quite  a  number 
of  us  were  looking  for  the  location  of  this  scaffold,  among  us  Col.  Sanders. 
I  found  one  of  the  stumps  and  from  it  extracted  a  bullet,  which  was  given 
to  the  colonel,  a  "souvenir"  that  he  told  me  afterward  he  valued  very 
highly. 

This  old  dead  town  of  Bannack  gave  life  to  the  territory,  and  later 
to  the  state  of  Montana.  Many  of  the  men  who  have  helped  to  make 
the  story  of  Montana  were  a  part  of  Bannack  in  those  early  days.  When 
the  first  legislature  met,  there  was  no  fancy  structure  built  of  granite, 
with  frescoed  walls,  polished  dome  and  well  kept  grounds.  The  only 
rooms  available  were  two  cabins,  one  a  large  sized  one,  built  for  theatrical 
purposes  but  not  finished;  the  other  a  small  cabin  at  the  other  end  of  the 
street.  (In  one  of  the  volumes  of  the  Historical  Society  is  shown  a  cut 
of  the  buildings  first  used  for  the  purpose,  an  adobe  and  a  small  cabin 
near  it.     These  are  not  the  buildings,  for  the  ones  used  were  on  the  north 


THE   STORY   OF  '"AJAX"  87 

side  of  the  street  and  these  are  on  the  south  side.  The  "House"  is  now 
a  stable,  three  miles  from  Bannack  on  Taylor  creek,  owned  by  Chas. 
Retallack).  A  cut  of  the  home  of  Governor  Edgerton  is  to  be  had  these 
days,  copyrighted  by  Tribune  Pub.  Co.,  of  Dillon.  It  shows  a  low  log 
cabin  that  has  been  used  for  years  as  a  stable.  It  did  not  matter  what 
kind  of  a  house  the  men  met  in,  they  were  there  for  business  and  while  they 
may  have  had  their  little  scraps,  they  were  soon  forgotten.  "Uncle  John" 
Bishop  says:  "That  Col.  Broadwater  got  on  the  peck  one  day  and  was 
going  to  wipe  out  the  whole  legislature  when  he  met  a  freighter  named 
Tom  Pitt,  who  knocked  the  colonel  out  in  the  first  round." 

Speaking  of  that  time,  "Uncle  John"  tells  of  the  first  loan  he  ever 
made  in  Montana:  There  was  a  fellow  named  Rohbacker  who  lived 
at  Boulder  that  came  to  Bannack  that  winter  to  lobby  for  a  charter  to  build 
a  toll  bridge.  As  the  legislators  were  not  as  avaricious  then  as  they  be- 
came later  under  Daly  and  Clark,  it  did  not  require  much  or  any  money 
to  get  a  worthy  bill  through.  Rohbacker  needed  $50.00,  which  I  gave 
him  without  interest.  On  his  return  home  he  sent  me  the  money,  in  gold, 
by  express,  which  cost  me  $2.50.  Some  time  afterwards  I  had  occasion 
to  stay  all  night  with  Rohbacker,  thinking  that  my  accommodating  him 
would  be  good  for  a  night's  lodging.  He  turned  my  horse  in  the  pasture, 
gave  me  a  bed  on  the  floor  and  charged  me  $3.50."  I  will  say  to  my 
readers,  do  not  hunt  Uncle  John  up  with  the  expectation  that  he  is  still 
doing  business  in  the  old  way.     He  learned  his  lesson. 

I  have  told  you  that  we  left  Bannack  in  the  spring  of  1868  for  Sil- 
ver Star,  a  small  town  on  the  Cherry  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Jefferson 
river.  Green  Campbell  had  been  the  man  who  was  successful  in  finding 
a  gold  ledge,  after\s'ard  known  by  his  name.  Some  Ohio  man  had  pur- 
chased the  claim  from  him  and  put  Charles  Everett  in  charge.  A  mill 
was  built  and  gold  was  extracted  in  large  quantities.  I  have  stated  that 
I  had  been  in  Everett's  room  in  the  old  "Silver  Star"  hotel,  and  had  seen 
gold  pan  after  gold  pan  of  retort.  The  memory  of  that  wealth  has  fol- 
lowed me  all  the  days  of  my  life  and  made  me  dream,  in  day  dreams,  of 
the  time  when  I  too  might  be  as  successful  as  Green  Campbell  in  discover- 
ing a  paying  mine.  My  experience  in  the  early  days  of  Butte  did  not 
dampen  my  ardor,  but  rather  added  to  it.  Years  after,  when  I  had  left 
Butte  and  gone  to  ranching,  I  had  learned  of  claims  I  had  owned  that 
were  worth  millions  instead  of  the  thousands  that  the  Green  Campbell 
produced.  I  had  kept  in  touch  with  acquaintances  in  the  old  town  and 
found  that  many  of  the  leads  once  actually  valueless,  owing  to  cost  of  re- 
duction and  transportation,  were  paying  dividends.  Is  it  any  wonder,  then, 
that  having  such  lessons  in  sight,  I  would,  at  some  future  time,  because  of  a 
little  piece  of  anglesite,  think,  with  the  Count  of  Monte  Cristo,  that  "The 
world  was  mine?"  At  the  head  of  Steel  creek,  on  the  Wise  river  side  of 
the  divide,  several  of  us  pooled  and  began  to  develop  a  claim.  Ed  Brown 
and  Fred  Myers,  two  of  the  members  of  the  company,  did  the  work,  which 
never  brought  any  returns.      While  working  there  Ed  found  the  "Martin 


88  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

Mines,"  Some  exceedingly  rich  ore  was  found  in  the  Martin;  a  good 
many  thousands  were  spent  in  its  development,  with  no  particular  suc- 
cess. Myers  and  Wilke,  near  their  home  ranch,  found  some  very  good 
ore  which  was  only  in  kidneys,  hence  of  no  value  from  a  paying  stand- 
point. I  was  interested  in  those  finds (?),  as  I  believed  that  some  place 
good  paying  mines  would  be  found  in  the   Big  Hole. 

Before  I  enter  into  the  experiences  encountered  by  myself  in  actual 
mining,  I  want,  for  the  few  who  knew  less  than  I  do  about  the  matter, 
to  give  some  of  the  stories  or  romances  connected  with  mines.  In  them  one 
finds  those  who  had  the  nerve  to  undertake  great  things,  some  to  succeed 
by  sticking  to  it,  while  others  went  broke  on  account  of  their  faith.  A 
man  does  not  generally  go  at  the  mining  business  as  he  would  others.  If 
you  build  a  house,  you  plan  first  and  execute  after.  You  would  not 
begin  a  house  with  only  enough  funds  to  put  up  the  walls,  you  would  see 
to  it  that  there  was  enough  for  a  roof.  Every  nail,  lath,  shingle  and 
piece  of  timber  would  be  taken  into  consideration  before  one  dollar  had 
been  expended.      That  would  be  the   only  wise  way,   wouldn't   it? 

It  is  because  of  the  element  of  chance  that  enters  into  mining  that 
so  many  men,  exceedingly  careful  in  all  other  business  affairs,  have  fallen 
down.  In  the  early  days  of  placer  mining,  the  crude  rocker  and  the  whip- 
sawed  sluice  box  was  about  all  that  cost  money,  unless  a  ditch  was  to  be 
dug  with  which  to  fetch  the  water  to  the  ground.  You  could,  if  you 
wished,  "clean  up"  at  any  time  and  tell  just  how  you  stood.  When 
"drifting  diggings"  were  encountered,  you  could  then  begin  to  calculate 
how  much  timber  you  would  need  for  a  set  and  how  much  energy  would 
be  required  to  raise  the  water.  Your  bed-rock  flume  could  only  be  ap- 
proximated when  you  did  not  know  the  exact  place  where  your  pay  came 
from.  The  big  dredge,  that  is  now  used  in  many  places,  is  a  matter  of 
scientific  calculation,  without  such  knowledge  and  the  money  with  which 
to  carry  out  your  ideas,  you  would  not  venture.  That  element  of  chance, 
then,  is  the  particular  dangerous  thing  connected  with  mining,  and  espec- 
ially quartz  mining..  Luck!  Is  there  no  such  thing  as  luck?  Some 
say  there  is  nothing  in  luck.  The  South  American  Indian  who  acci- 
dentally found  the  wonderfully  rich  silver  mines  of  Peru,  from  which 
one  thousand  millions  of  silver  have  been  taken,  and  that  in  the  crudest  way 
known  to  the  miner,  was  truly  a  lucky  fellow  for  his  employers,  if  not 
for  himself.  The  man  who  had  knowledge  or  curiosity  enough  to  employ 
one  with  knowledge  to  tell  him  what  the  heavy  black  metal  was  that 
bothered  the  gold  miner  on  Mount  Davidson  was  certainly  a  lucky  fellow, 
not  to  himself  alone,  but  to  the  world  at  large,  as  the  millions  in  silver 
that  was  taken  from  those  veins  have  been  a  wonderful  factor  in  the  up- 
building of  this  nation.  The  man  who  picked  up  a  piece  of  sandstone  in 
southern  Utah  and  sent  it  to  Salt  Lake  City  for  an  assay  was  considered 
more  curious  than  sensible.  The  assayer  knew  that  sandstone  did  not 
contain  silver  and  threw  the  rock  to  one  side,  probably  too  honest  to  use- 
lessly take  one's  money.     The  finder  wanted  to  know ;  there  was  something 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  89 

peculiar  in  the  cast  of  that  particular  piece  of  sandstone  that  had  aroused 
his  curiosity.  To  the  man  with  the  blow  pipe  he  said:  "Are  you  an  as- 
sayer?  Do  you  charge  for  your  work?  If  you  are  an  assayer,  I  want 
you  to  assay,  not  to  guess."  Result  was  that  the  rich  mines  of  Silver 
Reef  were  found.  Luck?  I  remember  that  I  rode  over  the  same  ground, 
as  a  cowboy,  that  afterward  gave  its  millions  to  W.  A.  Clark  &  Bros, 
from  the  "May  Flower."  Luck?  I  rem.ember  of  hearing  Thos,  H. 
Hamilton  of  Horse  Prairie  tell  of  an  experience  in  Australia.  In  the 
early  days  of  that  country  the  claims  were  very  small.  About  1 0  feet 
square.  "Ham"  said:  "I  was  working  for  a  big  fellow  who  was  much 
of  a  bully.  The  next  claim  to  us  was  bemg  worked  by  a  green  Swede. 
We  had  been  at  work  m  our  shaft  for  some  time,  and  the  boss,  not  satis- 
fied with  the  'indications,'  said:  'We  will  go  to  dinner  early  and  when 
the  Swede  goes  to  his  we  will  jump  his  hole,  or  trade  holes  with  him.'  We 
went  to  dinner  and  hurried  back  and  took  the  Swede's  tools  and  put  them 
in  our  shaft,  and  when  he  came  back  we  were  working  in  his.  He  said: 
'You  fallows,  aye  tank,  got  my  hole.'  To  which  my  boss  replied:  'Don't 
you  know  your  own  tools?'  Da  ban  my  tools,  all  right,'  the  Swede 
said  after  having  made  an  examination,  and  went  to  work  without  any  more 
talk.  When  that  fellow  struck  bed  rock  he  cleaned  up  $30,000,  and  we 
never  got  a  color."  In  Jeff  Davis  gulch,  the  gulch  from  which  Senator 
W.  A.  Clark  took  the  money  that  gave  him  a  start,  claims  up  to  10^  -^  paid 
and  then  the  streak  was  lost ;  to  be  found,  years  after,  by  Chinamen,  who 
took  out  $36,000  in  six  weeks.      Certainly  chance  played  a  part  there. 

Frank  Ramsdell  made  his  sweetheart,  Emma  Butcher,  a  present  of 
the  Alice  mine.  The  Walker  Bros,  of  Salt  Lake  bought  it  and  sent  Marcus 
Daly  to  run  it.  A  mill  was  erected  and  the  day  before  it  was  to  drop  a 
stamp,  W.  B.  Stanchfield  hauled  a  load  of  timber  for  the  mine,  which 
Daly  assisted  him  to  unload.  After  the  load  was  off  they  sat  down  and 
lit  their  pipes  and  Daly  opened  his  heart  to  Stanchfield  and  told  him  that 
the  successful  operating  of  that  mill  and  mine  meant  much  to  him.  Told 
him  that  he  was  in  debt  so  far  that  unless  they  did  succeed  then,  he  could 
never  come  out  whole.  There  they  sat  and  smoked,  and  each  one  may 
have  had  his  dream  of  what  the  future  would  mean  to  him;  what  it 
would  bring  to  him.  They  were  about  the  same  age,  both  men  knew 
what  hard  work  was;  both  knew  the  chance  that  mines  held  out,  as  one 
had  been  in  the  mines  of  California  and  Idaho,  the  other  in  Utah  and 
Nevada. 

Daly  could  not  have  dreamed  of  the  great  smelters  of  Anaconda, 
the  beautiful  Bitter  Root  stock  farm,  with  its  fast  horses  that  would  carry 
his  colors  in  every  great  race  track  in  the  land.  He  could  not  see  the 
great  struggle  that  would  come  up  between  him  and  W.  A.  Clark,  for 
the  political  supremacy  of  a  state,  the  loss  of  which  to  him  would  mean 
the  quickening  of  his  demise.  As  he  went  down  Main  street  that  night, 
on  his  way  home,  he  could  not  see,  even  in  his  mind's  eye,  the  monu- 
ment that  a  loving  people  would  yet  rear  to  his  memory,  the  first  and  only 


90  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

one  so  far  erected  to  any  man  in  Butte.  And  when  he  did  make  a  suc- 
cess of  the  Alice,  and  had  disposed  of  his  interests  in  it,  had  bought  for 
$30,000.00  the  Anaconda,  he  had  something  that  was  a  white  elephant 
on  his  hands,  until  he  interested  Haggins,  Tevis  and  Hearst,  with  their 
wealth,  in  its  development.  No  use  in  telling  what  he  became,  the  world 
knows.  But  Stanchfield,  he  too  had  his  dreams.  He  could  think  of  a 
time  when  some  of  the  mines  he  had  taken  up  would  give  him  a  home  for 
his  old  age;  when  he  could  go  again  to  the  home  of  his  boyhood  and 
proudly  hold  up  his  head  because  of  his  success.  He  could  not  see 
•that  he  should  stick  through  all  kinds  of  ups  and  downs  to  the  "Lizzie 
Ellen;"  that  the  soft  and  swelling  ground  that  he  and  Tibbitts  encountered 
could  have  been  held  up  long  enough  for  sufficient  development  to  give 
them  a  patent  on  what  was  afterward  to  become  the  great  Comanche,  one 
of  the  richest  copper  mines  in  Butte,  from  which  $38,000,000  has  been 
taken.  No!  He  could  not  see!  Daly  could  not  see!  But  chance,  that 
fickle  Goddess,  gave  one  a  world,  the  other,  almost  a  nameless  grave. 
Why  is  it?     I  don't  know.     Do  you? 

Several  years  since  I  wanted  to  get  some  information  from  one  of 
the  early  day  miners  and  prospectors  of  Butte.  I  went  down  to  South  Butte, 
into  the  old  placer  diggings,  once  owned  by  John  Noyes  and  Dave  Upton, 
and  found  the  old  shack  that  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  home  of  "Val" 
and  some  of  his  friends.  No  structure  could  have  presented  a  more  woe- 
begone appearance  than  this.  It  was  not  even  as  good  and  attractive  as  the 
old  log  cabin  of  the  early  days,  nor  anywhere  near  as  comfortable.  It 
was  built  (?)  from  refuse  lumber,  brought  from  near  and  far,  and  in  great 
contrast  with  the  fine  homes  and  large  brick  buildings  not  many  blocks 
away.  My  knock  at  the  door  did  not  bring  a  response.  In  making  an 
examination  of  the  premises,  I  noticed  a  man  a  short  distance  from  the 
house,  working  in  a  cut.  I  went  up  to  him  to  make  an  enquiry  as  to 
where  I  might  find  my  friend.  Owing  to  the  noise  made  by  the  water 
in  which  he  was  working,  he  did  not  at  first  hear  me,  so  I  had  a  chance  to 
take  a  good  look  at  him.  He  was  tall,  bent  and  weatherbeaten,  unkempt, 
with  hardly  enough  clothing  to  cover  a  decent  scarecrow,  showing  age, 
apathy,  a  general  demeanor  that  gave  you  the  impression  that  hope  was  a 
dead  and  already  buried  substance  so  far  as  he  was  concerned.  When 
he  raised  his  head,  I  knew  him.  I  had  not  seen  him  for  twenty-five 
years.  I  had  been  on  a  ranch,  had  played  the  mining  game  and  had  no 
particularly  bright  future  myself  to  which  to  look.  I  called  him  by  his 
given  name  and  told  him  who  I  was,  and  asked  him  what  he  was  doing 
there.  He  told  me  that  he  was  trying  to  catch  some  of  the  copper  that 
was  being  carried  away,  in  solution,  by  the  water.  That  this  water  came 
from  the  Gagnon  mine,  but  that  the  owners,  these  days,  also  had  a  plant 
above  him  and  that  but  little  escaped  for  him,  in  fact,  not  enough  to  make 
it  pay.  We  had  quite  a  long  conversation  concerning  the  many  changes 
that  had  come  into  our  lives  since  we  first  met,  over  thirty  years  before.  He 
said:     "What  a  fool  a  fellow  is  to  follow  mining  all  the  days  of  his  life. 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"'  91 

Time  was  when  I  could  have  had  my  pick  of  any  of  the  land  over  in  the 
valley;  could  have  had  a  good  heme  for  my  old  age.  But  now,  even  that 
has  been  taken  up  and  I  see  no  particular  hope  for  the  future."  "Stop 
and  think,  Dave;  have  you  not  had  some  chance,  in  all  the  years  you 
have  been  here  to  get  rich  in  mining?"  I  asked.  "Well,  yes,  that  is 
probably  so.  I  did  have  the  Moonlight  mine,  which  Jim  Murray  jumped 
and  sold  for  $450,000."  $450,000!  The  mine  that  Jim  Murray 
jumped !  Jim  Murray,  already  a  millionaire,  did  not  need  this  one,  but 
Dave  had  probably  been  careless  and  Jim  always  had  an  eye  on  the 
main  chance  and  was  willing  to  take  advantage.  As  an  Irishman  once 
said  to  Jim:  "Jim  Murray,  I  knew  you  when  you  was  a  petty  larceny 
thief,  and  now  I  know  you  when  you  are  a  grand  larceny  thief."  Old 
Dave,  if  alive,  may  be  on  the  county.  Jim  is  living  on  the  income  of  his 
ill-gained  wealth.  In  the  early  days  of  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  when 
John  Mackay  sunk  the  shaft  to  tap  the  Big  Bonanza,  it  was  more  the 
matter  of  nerve  than  anything  else  that  kept  him  going  under  most  dis- 
couraging conditions.  "Just  a  little  more  work;  just  a  little  farther,  and 
we  may  find  it.  I  hate  to  stop  now;  who  knows  but  what  the  next  round 
of  holes  will  break  into  ore,"  he  no  doubt  said.  And  the  next  round!  It 
did  break  into  the  most  wonderful  body  of  ore  and  gave  to  the  world 
$108,000,000  of  gold  and  silver;  $58,000,000  being  gold.  Chances? 
No,  pluck,  because  there  was  wealth  already  known  on  the  Comstock. 

It  is  said  the  "Chicken  Bill"  salted  a  mine  and  sold  it  to  H  A.  W. 
Tabor  for  $30,000.  It  took  but  a  short  time  to  prove  the  deception,  but 
Tabor  told  his  men  to  go  ahead  and  sink,  as  they  had  nothing  else  to  do, 
and  they  found  a  mine  from  which  millions  were  taken.  About  1 860 
Abe  Lee  found  gold  in  California  gulch.  Tabor  and  wife  moved  there  and 
opened  a  small  store.  The  placer  miner  was  bothered  with  a  black  sand 
that  he  did  not  understand,  but  which  proved  years  after  to  be  lead  car- 
bonates and  the  cause  of  Leadville.  Fryer  was  digging  on  what  was 
called  "Fryer's  Hill."  Tabor  outfitted  two  men  to  prospect.  They  went 
up  to  "Fryer's  Hill"  and  picked  out  a  place  to  sink  a  shaft.  When  they 
had  the  hole  down  three  feet,  Fryer  came  and  ordered  them  off,  saying 
that  that  was  his  claim.  They  asked  to  be  shown  his  boundaries  and  as 
there  was  an  abandoned  hole  outside  of  his  lines  they,  wanting  to  have 
something  to  show  to  Tabor  for  the  day's  work,  begun  in  it  and  after 
sinking  27  feet  found  the  Little  Pittsburg.  One  sold  for  $100,000,  which 
he  has  yet,  the  other  got  $30,000,  and  spent  it  for  fun(?).  It  made 
millions  for  Tabor.  If  they  had  continued  at  the  first  place  they  would 
have  gone  1 ,000  feet  before  they  found  ore.     Any  luck  in  this? 

It  is  said  that  Pat  Largey  tried  to  sell  a  mine  to  Daly  for  $150,000 
which  Daly  turned  down,  as  he  thought  he  had  prospected  it  by  a  drift 
from  some  of  the  other  mines  he  was  working.  It  proved  afterward  that 
he  had  cut  the  vein  at  a  blank  place.  Later  the  Largeys  sold  the  claim  for 
millions.  Cleveland  Wallace  and  Moffit  worked  the  "Orphan  Girl" 
until   they  were  almost  discouraged.      One  day  Moffit  made  up  his  mind 


92  THE   STORY   OF   "AJAX" 

to  assay  the  waste  dump  and  found  that  they  had  already  thrown  over 
$100,000  away. 

Geo,  Tong,  who  owned  the  Goldsmith  mine  in  Butte,  had  found 
some  ore  which  he  knew  to  be  good,  but  it  was  not  "in  place."  He 
hunted  for  a  long  time  without  being  able  to  find  the  vein,  when  a  kid 
brother,  who  hardly  knew  quartz  from  granite,  was  put  to  work,  with  the 
result  that  he  soon  uncovered  a  "Bonanza  Chute,"  from  v/hich  he  pro- 
duced $72,000  in  six  weeks.  That  old  mine  has  a  peculiar  record.  Tong 
made  thousands  and  spent  them  in  helping  his  friends  and  in  trying  to  de- 
velop the  state.  The  body  of  pay  ore  "played  out,"  or  was  lost,  and  much 
money  was  expended  in  trying  to  locate  it.  One  night  W.  B.  Stanchfield 
and  Atwater  Lawrence  after  firing  some  holes  in  the  face  of  the  drift,  went 
back  and  took  a  smoke.  "Uncle  Will"  said  :  "I  am  going  to  put  a 
hole  into  the  foot  wall,  right  where  we  are  and  take  a  chance  of  finding 
something,  before  I  go  back  to  the  face."  Atwater  was  foreman  of 
the  mine  and  did  not  take  kindly  to  his  uncle's  intention,  and  tried  to 
get  him  to  go  to  the  face  and  go  to  work.  The  "old  man"  was  obdurate 
and  would  not  listen,  and  taking  his  hammer,  he  hit  the  footwall,  which 
gave  out  a  hollow  sound.  The  sound  indicated  to  them  that  there  was 
something  there,  and  a  hole  a  foot  or  so  deep  showed  up  another  rich 
body  of  ore  for  Tong.  Curiosity  or  luck — suit  yourself.  Then  the  devil 
in  her  showed  out  clear  and  plain.  No  longer  would  she  allow  her  riches 
to  be  uncovered  by  him  who  had  not  held  to  them  nor  bound  them  to  him 
in  links  of  steel.  Try  as  he  would,  she  said  No!  Try  he  did,  until  she 
bent  him  and  broke  him,  as  a  reed  is  broken  by  the  winter's  blast,  to  lay 
him  low  in  the  valley  near  the  great  mountam  he  had  loved  so  well. 
The  heritage  he  left  was  a  heritage  of  debt — $101,000!  Most  of  it 
owed  to  people  who  did  not  really  need  it.  Then  again  she  says:  "I 
will  save  his  name,  now  that  he  sleeps  in  the  valley  and  take  the  stigma 
of  debt  from  the  loved  ones  he  has  left."  And  then  she  gave  to  Ellingwood 
a  part  of  her  treasure,  which  he  found  in  a  drift.  He  worked  it  from 
bottom  to  top,  and  when  the  debt  was  paid  she  cut  him  also,  for  it  is 
almost  true  to  the  letter  that  there  was  $202,000  in  this  one  chute,  one- 
half  of  which  belonged  to  the  longs  or  their  creditors,  to  be  exact.  A 
peculiar  story,  isn't  it?      Yet  it  is  true.      It  vindicated  Geo.  Tong. 

Billy  Parks  sunk  the  first  1  00-foot  shaft  in  Butte,  on  the  Parks  Par- 
rot, only  a  short  distance  from  the  Anaconda  mine.  Billy,  in  those  early 
days,  was  the  big  man  of  Butte.  Things  were  coming  his  way  and  no 
one  would  have  thought  that  he  would  ever  come  to  want.  Yet,  years 
after,  I  saw  him  a  poor,  lone  prospector,  still  trying  to  find  where  nature 
had  hidden  a  treasure  that  he  might  uncover  for  his  old  age.  It  is  useless 
to  multiply  these  stories.  I  have  given  them  to  the  reader  to  allow  him  to 
form  an  idea  why  I,  with  this  knowledge  at  my  command,  might  be  apt 
to  make  the  mistakes  I  did  in  my  mining  venture.  You  say:  "You 
wouldn't  do  as  others  have  done,  and  as  I  did."  How  do  you  know, 
unless  placed  in  exactly  the  same  place  and  under  the  exact  conditions? 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  93 

When   Frank   Brown   gave   Mrs.   Noyes  the   interest  in  the   "Carrie 
Leonard"  or  Ajax,  he  also  offered  to  give  us  a  part  of  the  groupe  now 
owned  by  the  Oreway  people,  the  Jahnke  mines.     We  did  not  want  them. 
As  I  have  mentioned  some  other  place  in  this  narrative,  "Big  Foot"  Smith 
had  told  me  of  a  mine  at  the  head  of  Big  Swamp  creek  that  had  some  very 
rich  ore  and  had  also  said  that  the  lead  was  a  strong  one.     This  was  the 
Ajax.     Smith  thought  that  the  indications  were  such  that  one  with  money 
could  make  it  pay.     When  the  interest  was  given  to  us,  we  did  not  know 
that  we  would  return  to  the  Big  Hole,  if  I  should  be  fortunate  enough  to 
be  elected  assessor.     After  going  to  Dillon,  I  got  an  idea  that  the  Ajax 
was  to  become  valuable,  and  got  Jim  Murray,  Wm.  Packard  and  Tommy 
Poindexter   to   buy   the   interests   held   by    Brown   and   his   partners.      As 
before  stated,  I  had  never  seen  the  mine  and  only  knew,  from  others,  that 
some  place  at  the  head  of  Big  Swamp  creek,  pretty  near  the  top  of  the 
main  range  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  there  was  a  gold  lead  of  good  size 
that  assayed  mighty  well.     Tom  Buggy  of  Butte,  one  of  the  best  assayers 
in  Montana,  had  been  there,  from  the  Idaho  side  of  the  range,  had  taken 
samples  and  was  satisfied  with  the  lead  and  ore,  but  said  a  fellow  would 
need  a  flying  machine  or  something  not  at  that  time  invented,  to  get  to 
the  place,  and  the  Lord  alone  could  tell  how  one  could  get  the  ore  out. 
Tom  was  not  satisfied  with  the  location.     As  the  above  named  boys,  on 
my  say-so,  had  bought  the  mine,  they  became  very  anxious  to  see  what  it 
looked  like,  so  as  soon  as  they  could  get  there  the  next  summer.   Brown, 
Packard  and  Poindexter  took  an  outfit  and  went  to  investigate.      It  must 
have   been   as   late   as   the   middle   of   June.      They   could   go   as    far   as 
Stanchfield's  ranch  with  a  wagon,  from  which  place  one  must  take  saddle 
and  pack  horses,  for  a  distance  of  I  5  miles  through  the  timber  and  up  the 
canyon  of  Swamp.      Brown  knew  the  whole  range  of  mountains  for  miles 
and  so  it  was  no  trouble  for  him  to  guide  them  to  the  place.     They  passed 
over  snow  drifts  30  or  40  feet  deep,  even  at  that  season  of  the  year,  before 
they  got  to  the  mine(?).   The  vein  was  so  located   that  the  part  where 
the  work  had  been  done  was  exposed  or  free  from  snow  on  account  of  the 
winds  and  the  hot  sun  of  June.      Brown  said  that  the  shaft  was  80  feet 
deep,    but   as   there   was    water   almost   to   the   top   of   it,    caused   by   the 
melting  snow,  the  boys  had  to  take  his  word  for  it.     There  was  some  lead 
ore  on  the  dump  that  was  said  to  have  come  in,  as  a  side  vein  or  stringer, 
a  little  distance  down  the  shaft.     This  shaft  was  at  an  altitude  of  9,750 
feet,  and  high  enough  for  one  to  look  over  the  main  range  into  the  Salmon 
River  country.     The  boys  took  a  sample  of  the  dump  and  also  got  some 
sp>€cimens   that   showed    free   gold.      The   sample   showed   something   over 
$14.00  per  ton  in  gold,  besides  the  silver  and  lead.     To  say  that  we  were 
pleased  would  be  drawing  it  mild,  because  here  was  a  great  big  lead  that 
could  be  traced  through  the  country  for  miles  that  showed  good  pay  ore 
in  the  surface,  and  could  be  approached  by  building  a  wagon  road  up  the 
creek.      We  made  up  our  minds  that  the  world  was  ours,  if  we  could  get 
a  little  money  with  which  to  do  development  work  and  probably  put  up  a 


9i  THE   STORY  OF   "AJAX" 

small  mill.  After  my  work  was  over  for  the  season,  I  wanted  to  go  and 
see  the  mine,  so  Tommy  and  I  took  a  team  and  "lit  out."  We  took  the  old 
Scudder  Creek  trail  and  camped  for  dinner  the  second  day  out  with  Mike 
Steel  and  Lou  Swanstrum.  They  were  running  an  arastra  on  some  of  the 
ore  that  belonged  to  the  Beck  claims,  near  the  head  of  Scudder  creek. 
Mike  was  a  character.  He  had  been  in  Montana  for  many  years,  had  been 
in  Bannack  and  Alder,  had  discovered  Steel  creek  in  1  869,  with  Barney 
McDonnell  and  Ed  Boyle;  and  later  was  the  man  to  bring  the  Elk  Horn 
to  the  notice  of  the  people.  He  knew  that  we  had  a  fair  prospect,  so 
gave  me  the  following  advice.  He  said:  "Boy,  don't  get  the  big  head, 
just  because  you  have  something  that  looks  good,  or  you  may  come  out  the 
way  1  did.  After  I  found  the  Elk  Horn,  I  got  Judge  Mead  and  Con 
Bray  to  go  in  with  me  and  build  a  mill.  You  bet  that  eveyrthing  was 
looking  fine;  everything  was  surely  coming  my  way.  I  needed  a  hat  and 
went  down  to  Bannack  and  hold  Graves  that  I  came  for  one,  as  the  old 
one  was  too  much  worn  out  for  a  man  in  my  position.  He  took  down  every 
hat  he  had  and  they  just  sat  on  the  top  of  my  head,  as  though  they  had 
been  made  for  little  boys.  L.  F.  said:  T  will  be  compelled  to  take  your 
measure  and  send  for  one.'  He  notified  me  when  the  hat  came  and  it 
was  just  a  fit.  Well,  we  went  on  working  and  got  the  mill  in  operation, 
and  for  some  cussed  reason  the  thing  didn't  pan  out;  times  were  getting 
rocky,  my  hat  was  old  and  needed  replacing  with  a  new  one.  I  went 
down  and  told  Graves  that  I  needed  a  new  headpiece  and  he  said: 
'There  she  is,  Mike,  I  know  this  will  fit  you  as  I  had  several  made  when 
I  took  your  order.'     Well,  I  put  that  hat  on  and  it  dropped  down  over  my 

ears  and  eyes.     I  tried  every  hat  he  had  and  every  one  was  too  d big, 

so  F.  L.  got  disgusted  and  said:  'Here  is  a  boy's  hat,  try  it.'  Do  you 
know,  that  kid's  hat  just  fit  me." 

Tommy  and  I  left  the  boys  to  go  to  the  Big  Hole  that  day  and  stay 
at  Stanchfield's  for  the  night.  The  next  morning  we  took  saddle  horses, 
with  blankets  and  a  lunch  and  started  to  find  the  mine.  Tom  was  not  sure 
where  it  was,  but  thought  he  could  find  it.  We  kept  too  far  to  the  right 
and  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  canyon  when  we  saw  the  mine  at  a 
distance  of  probably  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  The  conditions  were  a 
little  better  this  day  than  they  were  when  the  boys  had  been  up  earlier 
in  the  season.  We  got  some  very  nice  pieces  of  ore,  many  of  them  show- 
ing free  gold.  We  also  made  an  examination  of  the  water  power.  Just 
at  the  head  of  the  canyon  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  mountain  lakes 
imaginable.  A  nice  stream  of  water  flows  a  distance  of  200  yards  and 
falls  for  several  hundred  feet  in  cascades,  making,  in  high  water,  a  most 
desirable  water  power. 

We  would  harness  this,  put  up  an  arastra,  haul  ore  down  the  big 
snow  drift  to  the  head  of  the  lake  and  then  raft  it  across  and  begin  to  take 
out  money  with  but  a  slight  expenditure.  It  did  not  appear  to  be  an  un- 
reasonable conclusion  at  the  time,  as  the  ore  was  mined  and  with  a  down  hill 
pull  all  the  way  to  the  place  of  reduction.     We  returned  to  Dillon  and 


THE   STORY   OF  "AJAX"  95 

began  to  make  arrangements  for  the  construction  of  the  arastra.  It  must 
have  been  about  the  first  of  August,  1  893,  that  we  got  back  to  the  Big 
Hole.  Tommy,  Lou  Swanstrom  and  Frank  Caldwell  came  from  Dillon, 
Zeke  Packard  and  I  joined  them  at  the  edge  of  the  timber,  above  Sam 
Peterson's  ranch.  We  had  our  outfit  to  take  up  through  a  section  of 
very  rough  country.  No  team  had  ever  been  up  the  creek  prior  to  that 
time.  Mrs.  Noyes  and  Ethel  Wampler  had  come  with  Zeke  and  my- 
self, so  they  could  take  our  team  back  to  Wisdom.  It  was  a  jolly  bunch 
of  boys  that  entered  the  timber  that  August  afternoon  to  begin  a  road  over 
which  many  dollars  were  yet  to  be  taken  out(?).  We  were  as  happy  as 
Jason  when  he  started  out  to  hunt  for  the  Golden  Fleece.  (It  never  once 
entered  my  mind  that  I  would  get  fleeced).  We  made  our  road  along 
the  line  of  least  resistance.  We  did  not  cut  a  stick  of  timber  more  than 
necessary,  as  we  could  turn  into  small  parks,  though  it  did  make  a  road 
that  a  snake  would  have  broken  his  back  to  follow.  It  was  only  for  the 
time  being  that  this  road  was  to  be  used  and  when  there  was  actual  need 
for  a  good  road,  when  machinery  was  to  be  placed  on  the  mine,  then 
would  be  plenty  of  time  for  such  work,  useless  now.  These  were  the  ar- 
guments we  made,  or  the  excuse  rather,  for  not  being  more  particular. 

Two  days  hard  work  and  we  were  within  a  mile  of  the  foot  of  the 
falls,  another  day  and  we  were  at  the  foot,  but  we  wanted  to  put  the  arastra 
up  near  the  head,  and  there  was  a  mighty  steep  hill  about  one-half  mile  long 
that  no  pack  horse  could  climb  with  a  load  of  lumber,  without  a  trail. 
Say!  You  ought  to  have  seen  the  mosquitoes!  They  were  great  big, 
hearty  fellows,  hungry  enough  to  tackle  a  buzz  saw.  Why,  they  would 
even  bite  me!  (One  time  I  was  joshing  a  bibulous  friend  of  mine  and 
said:     "A  mosquito  wouldn't  bit  you.  Bill."      Huh!   I  guess  he  wouldn't 

if  he  hadn't  bitten  you  first  and  wanted  to  get  the  d n  dirty  taste  out 

of  his  mouth,"  he  replied.  I  hushed).  Nothing  like  a  bug  of  that 
description  could  stop  us,  so  at  the  hillside  we  went  and  soon  had  it  in 
shape  to  get  a  pack  horse  with  a  few  boards  on  his  back  to  the  arastra  site. 

I  found  out  that  I  had  been  much  mistaken  as  to  the  ability  of 
those  mosquitoes  to  do  me  harm.  It  was  only  a  few  days  before  I  was 
compelled,  on  account  of  a  sore  on  the  back  of  my  neck  which  threatened, 
blood  poisoning,  to  go  to  the  valley.  I  did  not  get  a  chance  to  go  back 
that  fall.  The  boys  completed  the  arastra,  and  had  everything  ready  for 
a  run  when  the  snow  bank,  the  only  mode  of  transportation,  melted,  and 
we  had  to  pull  out  without  a  run.  This  work  cost  us  about  $750  and 
never  was  used.  Some  smart  Aleck  came  along  some  time  in  the  fall  or 
next  spring  and  turned  the  water  on,  "Just  to  see  the  wheel  go  around," 
and  run  the  thing  to  pieces.  This  was  the  fall  of  1894.  Jim  Murray 
sold  his  interest  to  J.  F.  Morse  the  next  year,  I  think,  and  stood  to  lose 
but  little.  Pretty  lucky  for  Jim!  When  Morse  and  I  went  up  in  1895 
to  look  over  the  Stanchfield  ranch,  with  the  view  of  buying  from  David- 
son, we  came  to  the  conclusion  to  go  up  and  see  the  Ajax.  We  had 
Dug  Newcomer  and  Jack  Thomas  do  the  representing  that  year,  and  they 


96  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"' 

were  at  work  on  No.  3  tunnel,  living  in  the  old  cabin,  the  first  one  built 
on  the  creek  and  the  one  in  which  "Deafy"  Thompson  killed  "Dutch"  Gus. 
The  weather  at  that  season  of  the  year  was  ideal,  and  the  evening  and  night 
we  spent  there  was  much  enjoyed.  It  is  funny  how  little  incidents  long 
forgotten  in  a  way  come  back  to  one.  While  I  am  writing  this  this  morn- 
ing on  Puget  Sound,  where  I  can  look  out  on  the  placid  waters  of 
Port  Orchard  bay  and  see  some  of  the  great  men  of  war  as  they  lie  at 
anchor  near  the  new  dry  docks  at  Bremerton  navy  yard,  and  can  also 
see  one  of  the  old  ships  that  Farragut  had  in  his  fleet  during  the  Civil 
war,  I  think  of  something  altogether  different,  in  every  particular,  in  the  old 
Treasure  state.  I  see  a  little  log  cabin  nestled  beneath  big  nut  pines,  close 
to  a  great  mountain  that  rises  several  hundred  feet,  too  steep  to  be  easily 
climbed.  A  beautiful  little  gem  of  a  lake  is  only  a  few  hundred  feet  to 
the  north;  to  the  west  great  snow  banks  cover  the  head  of  the  canyon, 
snowbanks  that  never  melt.  Off  there  on  the  mountain  side  is  a  zig-zag 
trail  that  hardy  mountaineers  use  when  they  pack  to  the  summit  of  the  main 
range.  Off  here,  to  the  east,  is  the  valley  of  the  Big  Hole,  and  further 
yet,  the  Lyon  mountain  section,  and  in  the  dim  distance,  in  a  clear  day, 
the  mountain  range  at  the  head  of  Blacktail  Deer  creek,  I  00  miles  away. 
Four  men,  in  the  prime  of  life,  are  at  the  little  cabin  tonight.  Two  of 
them  have  been  viewing  the  conditions,  two  of  them  been  at  work  in  the 
mine.  It  is  after  supper  and  they  step  to  the  door  and  notice  a  pine 
martin,  a  beautiful  little  fellow,  sitting  on  a  log.  Jack  says:  "Keep 
still  and  I  will  get  that  fellow."  In  a  moment  he  re-appears  from  the  cabin 
with  his  45  and  blazes  away.  Result,  Mr.  Martin  falls  off  the  log.  "Oh, 
no!  I  guess  that's  not  all  right;  just  the  easiest  way  in  the  world  to  make 
five  dollars,"  says  Jack  standing  there  with  the  gun  in  his  hand,  sure  of 
his  martin  any  time  that  he  wishes  to  pick  it  up.  What's  that  little  animal 
that  is  going  like  the  wind  for  the  rocks?  Gee!  that's  Jack's  martin! 
He  has  had  time,  while  Jack  is  telling  how  easy  it  is  to  make  five  dollars, 
to  get  over  being  stunned  and  loses  no  time  in  "hitting  the  trail."  (I 
don't  know  where  Jack  is;  our  old  friend  Dug  has  gone  over  the  "Great 
Divide.")  When  Morse  and  I  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  road  we  fixed 
our  horses  so  they  would  be  secure  for  the  night  and  went  up  to  the  cabin 
where  the  boys  were  getting  dinner.  After  dinner  we  went  up  the  trail 
to  the  mine.  After  you  leave  the  cabin  you  follow  along  the  mountain 
side,  just  south  of  the  lake,  over  a  very  rough  trail  until  you  come  to  a 
piece  of  fairly  level  land,  from  the  point  where  you  strike  this  place  you 
can  see  the  vein  as  it  winds  its  way  to  the  main  range  to  the  right  and 
up  the  spur  on  the  left.  No  trouble  to  see  it,  as  it  is  from  6  to  50  feet 
wide  and  free  of  slide  rock.  At  the  lowest  place  where  the  lead  is  ex- 
posed was  a  small  tunnel,  called  No.  4.  Very  little  work  had  been  done 
at  that  time  at  this  point.  A  zig-zag  trail  led  from  the  level  to  this  point. 
From  this  tunnel  the  vein  extended  along  the  mountain  to  the  east  or  north- 
east, and  was  so  close  to  a  precipice  in  places  that  one  is  compelled  to 
take  hold  of  the  small  bushes  that  grow  in  some  places  near  it  to  keep 


THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX"  97 

from  falling  a  hundred  feet  or  more  to  the  top  of  the  east  side  of  the 
"spur,"  1 ,000  feet  higher,  where  it  breaks  off  in  a  precipice  several  hun- 
dred feet  high.  The  trail  to  tunnels  No.  1 ,  2  and  3  branches  off  from 
the  one  to  No.  4  on  the  level  piece  of  land  before  described.  Tunnel  No. 
3  is  several  hundred  feet  up  the  vein  from  No.  4,  and  can  be  reached  by 
following  the  vein  over  the  insecure  trail  along  the  precipice  just  mentioned, 
or  one  can  go  back  and  take  the  trail  that  zig-zags  for  hundreds  of  feet 
along  the  mountain  side,  I  started  over  the  trail  along  the  precipice. 
Morse  looked  at  me  and  said:  "Are  you  going  to  try  that  trail?" 
"Sure,"  was  my  reply.  "Well,  I  am  not  a  mountain  goat,  and  I  am  going 
some  other  way,"  he  said.  I  showed  him  the  other  trail  and  he  started. 
He  was  not  as  much  of  a  mountain  man  as  he  became  afterward.  I  had 
no  trouble  in  going  by  my  trail,  but  I  could  look  down  and  see  J.  E.  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  trying  to  make  his  way.  The  men  had  to  carry  all 
their  tools  over  the  trail  he  was  having  such  a  time  to  travel.  He  got 
to  No.  3  at  last,  and  as  but  little  work  had  been  done,  it  did  not  require 
much  of  our  time  to  look  it  over.  He  was  ready  to  go  back,  as  he  had 
seen  enough.  I  mentioned  the  fact  that  I  wanted  him  to  go  up  and  see 
the  discovery  shaft,  as  it  was  from  this  point  the  boys  had  taken  their 
samples  the  year  before.  "What!  Go  up  to  that  place  up  there?  Not 
on  your  life!"  he  said.  When  you  leave  No.  3,  to  go  down  the  trail 
you  would  not  notice  where  the  trail  forks,  one  down,  the  other  to  No.  2, 
unless  you  had  been  there  before  or  were  a  careful  observer.  I  banked 
on  the  fact  that  J.  E.  would  not  know  the  trail  he  came  over  to  lead  him 
off  to  the  right  to  see  the  discovery,  which  was  several  hundred  feet  higher 
up  than  No.  3.  We  worked  our  way  along  the  trail,  resting  whenever 
he  wished,  and  commenting  on  the  conditions.     When  he  would  come  to 

any  particular  place  that  was  hard  to  climb,  he  would  say:     "Any  d n 

fool  that  will  give  me  what  I  have  in  it  can  have  it  and  no  questions  asked." 
I  soon  arrived,  with  him,  at  the  shaft,  where  there  were  several  tons  of 
very  fine  ore  on  the  dump.  He  looked  at  me  a  minute  and  grinned  and 
said:  "I  thought  I  told  you  that  I  wouldn't  come  up  to  this  place?" 
"You  did,  J.  E.,  but  I  wanted  you  to  see  this  ore  and  knew  that  you 
could  be  brought  here  without  knowing  that  you  were  coming,"  I  replied. 
We  looked  the  ore  over  and  found  quite  a  number  of  specimens  that 
showed  free  gold.  Morse  was  glad  that  he  came,  after  the  trial  was  over. 
We  had  the  return  trip  to  the  cabin  to  make.  It  did  not  appear  but  a 
short  distance  down  to  the  level  place,  in  fact,  only  860  feet,  but  the  trail 
called  for  at  least  twice  that  distance.  We  began  our  descent  and  J.  E. 
would  be  compelled  to  catch  hold  of  anything  in  sight  to  keep  from  falling, 
and  every  time  he  found  a  steep  place  he  wanted  to  "sell." 

We  got  back  to  the  cabin  without  any  broken  bones,  made  an  ex- 
amination of  the  lake  and  water  power  before  the  boys  came  down  to 
get  supper.  The  next  morning,  about  9  a.  m.,  we  pulled  for  Bannack, 
where  we  arrived  about  7  p.  m.  The  farther  we  would  get  away  from 
the  mine  the  more  valuable  J.  E.  would  consider  it,  so  that  by  the  time 


98  THE   STORY  OF  "AJAX " 

we  arrived  at  Dillon  we  had  a  valuable  property.  We  made  up  our 
minds  to  haul  out  a  load  and  have  a  test  made  by  some  good  outfit.  J. 
T.  Armitage  went  wnth  me.  We  took  a  four-horse  team  and  pack  saddles 
and  got  out  1 800  pounds  which  we  took  to  Dillon.  Some  of  this  was 
sent  to  Salt  Lake  to  be  treated  by  some  one  who  had  a  small  plant  made 
for  the  purpose.  The  result  was  excellent.  The  fact  is  that  the  gentle- 
man to  whom  we  sent  this  ore  wrote  back  and  told  us  to  be  very  careful 
as  it  might  have  been  salted  on  us,  as  it  went  about  $37.50  per  ton  in  gold, 
besides  lead  and  silver. 

We  let  the  matter  drift  along,  doing  assessment  work,  expecting  that 
we  would  be  able  to  fmd  some  one  who  would  buy  it  at  $20,000.  As 
some  very  nice  specimens  had  been  taken  out  by  the  men  during  the 
representing  years,  people  began  to  talk  about  the  mine  in  various  sections 
of  the  country.  Silas  King  came  to  see  the  mine,  for  himself  and  Jim 
Murray,  the  Butte  banker  and  mining  man.  While  the  lead  looked  good 
to  Silas,  he  could  not  see  how  we  were  ever  to  get  a  road  to  it  over  such 
a  rough  country,  so  he  turned  it  down. 

Some  time  during  the  summer  of  '98  a  big  windy  fellow  came  to  the 
Ajax  ranch,  and  wanted  to  know  about  the  mine.  "Would  I  allow  him 
to  go  and  look  it  over,  etc."  Yes,  he  could  go  and  look  as  much  as  he 
wished,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned.  One  thing  about  him,  he  was  a  dandy 
fisherman,  as  he  could  catch  trout,  and  plenty  of  them,  in  Lake  creek, 
where  we  had  fished  with  poor  results.  He  went  to  the  mine  and  was 
well  pleased  with  it.  He  got  a  lease  and  bond  for  $20,000,  I  believe. 
Said  he  would  put  men  to  work,  build  a  small  mill,  harness  the  water  power 

and  "raise  merry  h 1  with  that  old  hill."     He  did  put  Jim  Thompson 

and  "Dutch  Gus"  up  there,  with  the  result,  as  before  mentioned,  of  Gus' 
death.  I  am  sorry  I  can't  remember  this  guy's  name,  as  he  was  quite  a 
factor  in  1 900  in  helping  beat  me  for  the  legislature,  using  democratic 
money,  though  himself  a  pseudo  republican.  As  a  gas  factory  he  would 
have  proved  an  immense  success.  It  was  a  good  thing  when  we  got  rid 
of  him  through  his  inability  to  make  a  raise  of  money  with  which  to  go 
ahead.  If  he  had  been  able  to  get  some  one  to  put  up  enough  to  lift  the 
bond,  we  would  have  been  glad,  but  he  was  a  "non-producer,"  in  this 
particular  case  at  least.  I  really  believe  that  his  name  was  Hopkins, 
though  I  am  not  sure. 

All  of  our  representing  was  done  on  tunnel  No.  3,  as  we  thought  this 
the  best  place  to  work  the  mine,  as  it  would  require  a  little  shorter  tramway 
than  the  discovery  shaft.  In  the  haying  season  of  1900  I  told  my  uncle, 
W,  B.  Stanchfield,  that  I  would  like  to  go  and  look  over  the  claim  and 
see  if  anything  could  be  done  with  it.  We  appointed  a  day  for  this  visit 
and  made  the  trip.  We  looked  the  ground  over  with  considerable  care,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  could  not  do  anything  to  make  it  pay. 
We  were  at  the  discovery  shaft  when  we  had  come  to  this  conclusion. 
When  you  remember  that  water,  from  melting  snows,  always  filled  or 
nearly  filled  this  shaft,  and  that  none  of  us  had  ever  been  down  it  to  see 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  99 

the  vein  in  the  bottom,  we  could  only  judge  as  to  what  might  be  there  from 
the  ore  on  the  dump.  We  hadn't  taken  any  of  that  ore  out,  hence  did  not 
know  what  particular  part  of  the  dump  came  from  the  bottom.  So  far 
as  we  might  know  the  bottom  might  show  a  blank  and  waste  from  it 
might  have  been  thrown  over  the  hill.  There  was  quite  a  nice  lot  of 
galena  ore  on  the  dump,  but  we  did  not  know  where  it  was  to  be  found 
in  the  vein.  Brown  said  that  it  came  in  as  a  cross  lead  a  short  distance 
down  the  shaft.  As  many  times  as  I  had  been  up  there,  I  had  not  noticed 
the  vein  to  the  east  of  the  shaft,  until  just  about  the  time  we  were  ready  to 
leave,  when  I  looked  up  the  hill  and  said  :  "Uncle  Will,  this  lead  is  at 
least  23  feet  wide  up  there;  give  me  the  pick  and  I  will  show  you."  "You 
are  crazy,  boy,"  he  said.  I  took  the  pick  and  walked  up  the  hill  about 
50  or  60  feet,  and  drove  it  under  a  piece  of  rock.  When  I  got  the  rock 
out  I  did  not  say  any  thing.  It  was  a  big  chunk  of  galena  ore.  I  scratched 
about  a  little  more  and  found  other  pieces,  and  called  to  him  and  said: 
"I  have  found  the  place  that  the  galena  ore  comes  from;  come  on  up." 
"No  you  haven't;  you  are  just  fooling,"  he  replied.  But  I  assured  him  that 
it  was  a  fact.  The  old  gentleman  was  very  active,  so  it  required  but  a 
short  time  before  he  was  up  that  hill  and  took  the  pick  out  of  my  hands 
with  feverish  haste.  (Any  old  mining  man  or  prospector  will  show  much 
interest  in  a  find,  whether  he  has  any  claim  in  the  ledge  or  not). 

It  would  have  done  your  heart  good  to  have  seen  Uncle  Will,  down 
on  his  knees,  working  with  pick  and  hand,  as  we  had  no  shovel,  tearing 
the  ore  loose  from  the  lead  in  big  chunks,  or  picking  up  and  sifting  through 
his  fingers  the  sand  carbonates.  Working  together,  we  must  have  dug 
out  at  least  a  ton  of  ore  in  less  than  an  hour.  When  we  began  it  did  not 
appear  very  wide,  but  by  the  time  we  were  through,  we  had  uncovered  about 
a  I  6-inch  face  of  galena  and  carbonate  ore,  and  proved  to  our  satisfaction 
that  the  ledge  was  much  wider  at  that  point  than  we  had  supposed.  We 
carefully  covered  up  the  exposed  ore  by  throwing  rock  into  the  excavation, 
selected  a  piece  of  ore  for  assaying  and  went  down  to  the  mountain  to 
camp.  It  was  too  late  to  go  home,  so  we  made  our  camp  in  the  open  back 
of  "Dead  Man's  Cabin."  We  built  a  good  fire  and  sat  there  far  into  the 
night  talking  of  boyhood  days  and  the  old  home  in  Minneapolis.  Surely 
the  mine  on  the  hill  was  the  mine  of  my  dream;  could  not  be  a  doubt  as 
to  that  fact.  Hadn't  Billy  Packard  come  from  the  Couer  d'Alene,  hadn't 
he  become  a  partner  in  this  lead?  Sure  as  shooting  things  were  to  come 
my  way  fast  from  now  on.  Morse  had  become  disgusted  with  the  show- 
ing and  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  it,  so.  that  night.  Uncle  Will  and  I 
planned  to  lease  and  bond  the  Morse  interest,  and,  as  we  were  full  of  the 
day's  work,  take  it  on  ourselves  to  develop  the  lead  enough  to  sell.  We 
did  not  take  into  consideration  the  possibility  of  getting  money  to  place 
it  on  a  paying  basis.  I  was  to  go  to  Wisdom  and  send  1  om  Buggy  the 
"sample"  as  soon  as  I  got  home,  and  if  it  showed  good  values,  I  would 
go  to  Dillon  and  get  the  lease  and  bond  from  J.  t.  for  $10,000.  We 
could  really  see   the   money   that  we   would  divide   after  paying  him   his. 


100  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

Now,  don't  misunderstand  me.  We  did  not  intend  that  Mr.  Morse 
should  bhndly  sell  us  his  interest,  as  I  was  to  tell  him  just  what  we  had 
found  and  show  him  the  assay  certificate  from  Buggy.  I  sent  the  sample. 
In  due  time  I  got  the  returns,  with  a  note  from  him  saying  that  the  piece 
of  ore  was  anglesite,  something  that  he  had  seen  but  little  of  in  his  exper- 
ience in  Montana.  (I  am  sorry  I  destroyed  that  little  piece  of  paper.  I 
did  not  expect  to  try  to  tell  "The  Story  of  the  Ajax,"  or  I  would  have 
retained  data,  so  that  there  would  be  less  guess  work  as  to  dates,  names, 
etc.)  It  showed  on  the  face  of  it  something  as  follows:  Gold,  $32.80; 
silver,  1 3  ounces ;  lead,  63  per  cent — making  shipping  ore,  if  one  could 
get  a  wagon  road  up  the  mountain.  It  did  not  take  long  for  me  to  saddle 
my  horse  and  go  to  the  Stanchfield  ranch,  where  I  found  Uncle  Will  at 
work  in  the  hay  field.  "Well,  Buggy  has  assayed  that  piece  of  ore  and 
it  is  no  good,  so  everything  is  off,"  I  told  him.  "No  good!  I  know  better 
than  that  without  any  assay;  what  you  giving  me?"  was  the  reply.  I 
pulled  the  certificate  on  him  and  his  blue  eyes  sparkled  like  diamonds. 
"Say!  Isn't  that  a  dandy,  old  man?"  he  said.  As  soon  as  I  could  get 
away  from  home  I  went  to  Dillon.  In  Dillon,  I  made  my  home  at 
Morse's  and  must  have  gotten  there  about  supper  time,  as  I  did  not  get  to 
see  him  until  then.  While  we  were  eating  I  took  the  certificate  from  my 
pocket  and  handed  it  to  him.  He  looked  at  it  and  said:  "Where 
did  this  piece  of  ore  come  from?"  I  replied:  "That  is  a  little  piece  I 
picked  up  and  as  it  looked  good  to  me  I  sent  it  to  Buggy."  "Say,  Al, 
no  joking;  where  did  this  come  from?"  he  again  asked.  "That  rock  is 
from  the  Ajax,  and  there  is  more  of  it  in  the  same  place.  I  came  to 
see  if  you  would  give  Stanchfield  and  me  a  lease  and  bond  on  it  at  the 
price  you  and  I  have  been  holding  it?"  Then  I  told  him  all  that  I  knew 
about  it.  After  he  had  listened  to  my  story  he  said  that  he  did  not  care 
to  sell,  but  would  give  the  "Old  Man"  a  bond  for  one-quarter  interest  for 
$5,000.  This,  of  course,  was  as  good  a  thing  as  Uncle  Will  could  have 
expected,  better  in  fact.  We  had  estimated  that  the  cost  of  a  road  from 
the  valley,  besides  what  had  already  been  done  when  we  built  the  arastra 
in  1894,  to  be  $1,000.  As  we  were  familiar  with  ditch,  timber  and 
road  work,  we  thought  that  that  estimate  safe.  As  stated  some  place  else 
in  this  little  story,  Ed  Norris  and  I  had  tabooed  politics  and  agreed  to 
attend  to  business  and  never,  never  run  for  office  again.  We  were  foolish 
enough  to  shake  hands  to  bind  the  compact;  a  compact  to  be  broken  by 
both  of  us  later  on. 

Seneca  has  rightly  said :  "All  men  are  susceptible  to  flattery."  That 
fall  of  1900  I  was  a  member  of  the  republican  county  convention;  W. 
A.  Clark  had  made  up  his  mind  to  be  vindicated  if  it  cost  the  ransom  of 
a  king,  with  chunks  of  dough  left  over  big  enough  to  buy  a  few  lesser 
lights.  I  did  not  desire  to  again  enter  the  political  arena.  The  Ajax 
and  Highland  ranches,  and  the  possible  time  I  might  use  in  helping  develop 
the  Ajax  mine  should  take  every  moment  of  my  time.  When  I  arrived 
at  Dillon  I  was  met  by  first  one  and  then  another,  and  told  that  I  was  one 


THE  STORY  OF  -AJAX"  101 

of  the  men  that  must  make  the  race  for  the  legislature.  No  matter  what 
I  had  to  say  to  the  contrary,  I  must  hsten  to  them  and  allow  my  name  to 
go  before  the  convention.  I  had  promised  my  wife  not  to  have  anything 
to  do  in  the  game,  when  I  left  the  ranch.  But  what  was  the  use?  They 
had  elected  me  to  office  when  I  needed  it,  and  now  I  must  make  a  sacri- 
fice for  the  party  when  it  needed  me.  "Truth  of  the  matter  is,  old  man, 
you  must  get  in,"  more  than  one  told  me.  If  wise  men  are  susceptible 
to  flattery,  what  can  you  expect  of  an  ordinary  one?  I  allowed  them 
to  present  my  name  with  the  result  that  I  received  the  nomination.  My 
running  mate  was  Alvin  Anderson,  a  good,  level-headed  man,  that  would 
have  done  good  work  had  he  succeeded  in  being  elected.  Milton  L. 
Davidson  was  up  for  state  senator. 

I  heard  a  good  many  comments  when  our  convention  adjourned. 
Charles  Paddley  said:  "Mr.  Noyes,  you  are  the  only  man  on  your 
ticket  that  we  can't  beat  to  a  stand-still,  and  there  is  no  use  tr3nng  to  get 
your  scalp."  On  our  way  to  the  Mantle  ranch  the  next  day,  Morse  and 
I  met  George  Metlen.  "Who  did  you  fellows  put  up  for  the  legislature?" 
he  asked.  Morse  replied:  "Davidson  for  the  senate;  Al  Anderson  and 
Al  Noyes  for  the  house."  "Gosh!  We  can't  beat  'Skinny,'  that's  a 
sure  thing,"  he  said. 

Soon  after  the  convention  several  of  us  went  to  Helena  to  the  state 
republican  convention,  and  nominated  Dave  Folsom  for  governor  against 
Joe  Toole.  After  attending  to  several  of  the  necessary  matters  connected 
with  the  mine  and  ranches,  I  met  the  "boys"  in  Dillon  for  a  campaign 
through  the  county.  Alvin  Anderson  did  not  go  out.  Davidson  and 
several  of  the  other  candidates  and  myself,  with  a  gentleman  from  Great 
Falls  as  speaker,  Laurin  Jones  and  L.  J.  Price,  to  help  entertain  (and 
these  two  fellows  were  dandies  any  place  you  put  them)  made  a  trip, 
or  trips,  one  should  say,  that  covered  the  whole  country  from  Dillon  to 
Lima,  Bannack,  Big  Hole  Basin,  Dewey's,  Glendale  and  Hecla. 

A  trip  of  this  kind  written  up  in  detail,  would  make  quite  an  inter- 
esting story  for  any  one  not  having  had  the  actual  experience  of  a  campaign 
among  the  miners  and  ranchmen  of  a  county  in  a  western  state.  The  most 
of  us  had  brushed  up  against  the  rough  side  of  worldly  conditions.  We 
had  followed  the  pack  horse  over  mountain  ranges,  through  beautiful 
foot  hills,  along  winding  streams  in  quest  of  mines;  we  had  lived  among 
the  miners  in  the  early  days  of  some  camps  and  experienced  their  kindly 
inner  feelings,  even  though  they  may  have  had  rough  exteriors.  Many 
of  us  had  cowboy  experiences;  others  were  used  to  woodcraft.  So  under 
the  existing  conditions  we  could  appear  at  home  in  almost  any  company. 
Milt  had  not  been  educated  to  really  enjoy  the  rough  usages  of  a  care- 
less frontiersman,  be  he  miner  or  stockman,  when  he,  full  of  "40-rod", 
wanted  to  show  him  particular  attention  and  affection  by  a  maudlin  em- 
brace or  a  vacuous  kiss.  Nevertheless,  he  was  too  much  of  a  gentle- 
man to  openly  show  his  disgust  for  men  who,  under  the  influence  of  liquor, 
made  asses  of  themselves,  but  who,  when  sober,  were  not  at  all  disagree- 


102  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

able,  and  whose  vote  counted,  in  final  results,  with  the  governor  of  the 
state.  Price  and  Laurin  Jones  told  me  that  I  lost  vots  by  a  little  talk  I 
made  at  Jackson.  "No  doubt  about  it,"  they  said,  but  I  do  not  care  at 
this  time  if  I  did.  When  we  arrived  at  Wisdom,  my  home  town,  I  soon 
found  that  the  sentiment  of  the  people  was  to  down  me  at  the  polls. 
When  this  truth  came  to  be  fully  realized,  I  certainly  felt  very  sorry.  I 
did  not  care  a  great  deal  about  being  defeated,  if  my  defeat  came  about 
in  the  right  way.  But,  to  have  men  for  whom  I  had  done  much,  and 
was  willing  to  do  more,  allow  some  one,  who  had  a  little  money  to  spend, 
or  who  could  and  would  readily  use  subterfuge  in  order  to  change  their 
minds  and  make  them  go  against  me  for  the  time  being,  made  a  deep 
wound.  I  loved  these  people  and  wanted  their  good  will.  I  had  tried  to 
earn  their  undying  affection;  I  had  truely  tried  to  fill  every  office  to  which 
I  had  ever  been  appointed  or  elected  for  the  benefit  of  these  people.  I 
did  not  believe  that  they  could  be  bought  or  persuaded  to  do  aught 
against  me.  When  they,  who  were  loyal,  called  on  me  for  a  little  talk, 
I  attempted  to  respond,  with  the  result  that  tears  and  sobs  so  choked  me 
that  I  was  unable  to  say  a  word,  and  some  used  that  against  me,  before 
election  and  on  election  day,  derisively,  to  make  capital  for  my  undoing. 
If  it  is  unmanly  to  shed  tears  for  the  loss  of  a  friend,  I  was  unmanly. 
If  it  is  unmanly  to  weep  for  loss  of  prestige  one  had  worked  decently  and 
above-board  to  secure,  I  was  unmanly.  It  is  not  unmanly  to  shed  tears 
and  feel  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  a  friend  or  friends.  It  is  not  unmanly  to 
sob  broken-heartedly  for  the  loss  of  a  position  that  one  has  gained  by 
trying  to  do  right  and  lost  through  no  intent  to  do  wrong  on  his  part.  Many 
besides  myself  have  shown  their  sentiment  in  this  way,  and  One,  greater 
than  all  "Wept."  When  we  arrived  at  Dewey's  we  found  that  our 
campaign  was  surely  to  be  a  failure.  Dewey's  had  always  been  noted 
for  its  full-blooded,  staunch  and  reliable  republicans.  Not  so  this  night. 
W.  A.  Clark's  money  had  made  cowards  of  them  all.  His  henchmen 
were  there  to  see  that  the  "cattle"  he  had  bought  should  not  stampede 
when  part  of  the  herd  was  going  through  the  place.  In  all  the  town  of 
Dewey's  not  a  republican  could  be  found  who  would  fill  the  chair  that 
night,  when  our  man  spoke.  This  duty  fell  ta  me.  When  v/e  arrived 
in  Dillon  Morse  asked  me  how  I  sized  up  the  situation.  I  told  him  that 
we  did  not  have  one  chance  in  the  world  to  elect  our  men.  It  might  be 
possible  to  elect  some  of  the  county  officers,  but  no  one  on  our  legislative 
ticket  could  expect  to  get  in.  He  did  not  take  kindly  to  this,  as  he 
was  so  desirous,  in  fact  has  always  been,  of  seeing  the  repubhcans  win  that 
he  would  never  admit  defeat  until  the  "count"  was  made.  (I  think  that 
Charlie  Conger,  for  assessor,  was  the  only  man  we  elected).  Lee  Mantle 
was  out  that  year  for  senator,  and  took  much  interest  in  the  legislative 
ticket.  I  remember  one  little  story  he  told  in  a  talk  he  made  in  the  opera 
house  in  Dillon  during  the  campaign:  "The  democratic  party  puts  me 
in  mind  of  a  man  who  was  making  the  trip  to  Europe.  He  had  been 
out  but  a  short  time  when,  as  is  the  custom,  I  believe,  he  became  deathly 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  103 

sick.  He  called  the  captain  and  said:  *I  want  you  to  promise  me  one 
thing.  Captain,  if  I  die,  please  take  my  remains  to  land  for  interment; 
don't  buiy  me  at  sea.'  The  captain  promised.  A  day  or  two  after  he 
called  for  the  captain  again  and  said:  'You  remember  what  you  promised 
me,  captain,  if  I  should  die  at  sea?  Well  I  want  to  absolve  you  from  that 
promise — as  there  will  be  no  "remains".'  The  democrats  will  be  in  the 
same  condition  this  fall,"  he  said.  But  Lee  was  as  much  mistaken  in 
this  matter  as  Joe  Metlen  was  when  he  ran  against  Al  Graeter  for  sheriff 
several  years  before.  According  to  Joe's  stor\'  the  matter  was  like  this: 
"In  those  days  we  rode  all  over  the  country  on  horseback,  but,  as  it  was 
not  all  settled,  that  did  not  require  a  great  amount  of  time.  I  took  my 
horse  and  made  the  trip,  and  every  fellow  I  met  agreed  to  vote  for  me. 
Why,  I  had  a  walk-over!  No  trouble  at  all.  Fact  was,  I  was  in  office 
already,  so  far  as  Al  was  concerned,  to  hinder.  I  met  him  on  my  way 
back  and  broke  the  news  as  gently  as  possible  and  told  him  I  hated  like 
thunder  to  see  him  get  out,  spend  his  money  and  waste  his  time.  'Oh, 
that's  all  right,  Joe,  mighty  thankful  to  you  for  good  advice,  etc.,  but  I 
guess  I  will  go  and  see  the  boys  any  way,'  he  replied.  Well,  sir,  there 
must  have  been  the  damnedest  lot  of  liars  in  Beaverhead  county  you  ever 
saw  or  else  I  misunderstood  them,  because  Al  got  nearly  all  the  votes." 

I  will  always  remember  that  election  day  in  Wisdom.  Men  whom 
I  believed  my  friends  were  out  open  and  above  board  for  my  defeat.  The 
Highland  ranch  was  a  bone  of  contention.  "You  are  the  main  reason  for 
having  had  that  much  of  the  public  range  fenced  in  and  taken  from  your 
neighbors,"  they  said;  while  they  really  knew  that  I  was  only  one  spoke 
in  the  wheel,  they  would  take  their  spite  out  on  me.  I  have  mentioned 
elsewhere  that  the  Big  Hole  people  did  not  take  kindly  to  sheep.  They 
had  never  allowed  any  one  to  keep  them  in  the  valley.  Fred  Schulz  had 
taken  up  a  piece  of  land  on  the  Highland  bench  and,  as  he  understood 
the  sheep  business,  he  wanted  to  fetch  in  a  band  and  keep  them  through 
the  winter  and  take  them  to  the  range  outside  of  the  valley  in  the  spring. 
He  talked  to  several  of  the  ranchmen  and  they  made  no  objections.  Fred 
got  the  sheep  into  the  valley  the  day  before  election.  This  was  enough 
for  men  who  would  use  any  weap>on  to  down  a  political  adversary,  no  mat- 
ter what.  They  knew,  as  well  as  I,  to  whom  those  sheep  belonged,  and 
knew  how  gullible  people  are.  They  said:  "J.  E.  Morse  and  Al  Noyes 
have  brought  a  band  of  sheep  into  the  basin  and  are  to  run  them  on 
the  Highland."  J.  E.  Morse  and  Al  Noyes!  We  did  not  own  the 
Highland  Water  company,  others  were  interested  equally  with  us,  but 
their  names  were  not  mentioned.  It  was  Noyes  who  must  fall  before 
their  onslaught  of  indecent  and  premeditated  lies.  "All  is  fair  in  love, 
war  and  politics,"  it  is  said.  There  is  no  reason  why  one  should  be  allowed 
to  use  malicious,  vicious  and  villainous  falsehoods  to  place  a  person's 
chances  in  jeopardy,  even  if  those  chances  are  political  ones.  No  man 
who  so  perverts  the  truth  should  be  considered  a  good  citizen,  because,  if 
he  is  careless  of  decency,   righteousness  and   manhood   in   things  that   are 


104  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

not  of  vital  interest  to  him,  he  will  certainly  bear  watching  when  any  per- 
sonal interest  is  at  stake.  Pick  up  any  newspaper,  in  a  political  year, 
and  see  how  the  men  are  held,  who  happen  to  be  opposed  in  their  belief 
to  the  editor.  Take  any  campaign.  In  one  paper  a  man  is  too  good 
for  heaven;  in  the  other,  too  mean  for  hell.  There  should  be  valid  reasons 
why  one  man  should  be  better  fitted  to  fill  a  certain  position  than  an- 
other. The  man  who  will  willingly  use  lies,  to  win  in  his  political 
battles,  should  be  hanged  as  high  as  Haman,  in  public  opinion. 

I  do  not  regret  that  I  fell  by  the  wayside  at  that  election,  as  I  d6 
not  need  to  offer  any  excuses  as  to  the  reason  why  I  voted  for  such  and 
such  a  man,  as  many  of  them  did  and  do;  nor  have  I  been  branded  as  one 
who  was  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  That  ended  my  political  chances,  as 
I  have  had  no  desire  to  go  before  the  people  since.  Norris  was  more 
fortunate  when  called  upon,  by  the  people,  to  run  for  office.  He  has 
filled  the  seats  of  lieutenant  governor  and  governor  in  a  most  creditable 
manner.  An  honor  to  himself  and  his  adopted  state.  At  this  writing  he 
is  spoken  of  as  a  possible  member  of  President-elect  Wilson's  cabinet,  as 
secretary  of  interior. 

Ed  Norris  is  an  honorable  man,  not  a  money  maker,  as  he  wishes 
to  know  that  the  way  the  dollar  comes  is  a  decent  one.  J.  E.  Morse 
liked  Norris,  excepting  his  politics.  He  said:  "Ed  Norris  is  one  of 
nature's  gentlemen,  and  if  he  is  elected,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  what  he 
will  be,  he  will  make  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  governor  the  state 
has  ever  had."  There  is  not  the  least  doubt  in  my  mind  but  what  Norris 
could  have  been  elected  to  the  United  States  senate  this  winter  had  he  so 
wished.  This  would  have  fulfilled  Tommy  Poindexter's  prophecy.  I 
am  not  willing  to  say  that  Ed  Norris  is  out  of  politics  for  "keeps," 
though  he  thinks  he  is,  as  a  "bug"  may  get  in  his  "head-piece"  any  time 
and  set  him  training  for  something  of  a  higher  order  than  he  has  yet 
held. 

The  little  piece  of  anglesite  that  was  sent  to  Buggy  that  showed 
such  splendid  results,  was  the  most  dangerous  factor  that  ever  came  my 
way.  In  fact,  it  was  the  means  of  my  undoing.  Mr.  Morse  was  willing 
to  spend  some  money  in  the  deevlopment  of  the  mine,  so  we  at  once  gave 
Mr.  Stanchfield  liberty  to  get  men  and  supplies  and  build  the  road.  It 
required  but  little  grading  for  the  part  of  the  road  through  the  timber. 
They  began  at  the  point  where  the  old  road  crossed  the  creek  at  the  camp 
called  "Zeke's  Spring,"  and  cut  a  good,  wide  swath  through  the  lodge 
pole  pines  until  they  came  to  the  beginning  of  the  trail  that  led  up  to  the 
lake  and  mine.  They  built  a  cabin  at  this  point,  as  the  weather  at  that 
season  of  the  year  was  apt  to  be  anything  but  agreeable,  owing  to  the  fre- 
quent snow  storms  that  came  at  that  altitude.  This  first  road  through  the 
timber  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  was,  later,  to  receive  much  more  of  an 
expendiure  in  bridges,  grades  and  corduroys  before  heavy  machinery  could 
be  taken  to  the  mill.  It  was  the  same  fall  that  I  was  running  for  the 
legislature   that   the  work  on   the   road   was  begun,    and   because   of   it   a 


THE  STORY  OF    'AJAX"  lOo 

story  became  current  that  Morse  and  myself  had  colonized  at  least  1 00 
men  all  known  to  be  favorable  to  me  in  the  coming  election.  The  demo- 
crats went  so  far  as  to  send  a  spy  to  look  over  the  situation  and  make 
his  report  in  Dillon.  The  only  information  that  he  could  impart  was  that 
we  had  1  2  or  15  men,  two-tliirds  of  whom  were  democrats,  and  the  loss 
of  what  money  he  had  taken  with  him  in  a  game  of  poker  at  the  camp. 
My  uncle  kept  these  men  at  work  as  long  as  possible,  as  we  were  anxious 
to  get  the  road  in  shape  that  season,  in  order  to  build  a  tramway  up  to 
the  mine  and  ship  some  ore  the  next.  The  road  was  not  a  difficult  one  to 
construct  so  far  as  an  engineering  problem  was  concerned,  but  required 
constant  care  and  attention  to  keep  the  men  busy  and  interested.  There  was 
quite  a  lot  of  rock  work  and  fills  along  the  mountain  side  next  the  lake. 
All  this  was  finished  and  a  cabin  put  up,  at  the  foot  of  the  lake,  by  the 
time  the  heavy  snows  came  to  drive  them  out. 

When  work  was  suspended  in  the  fall,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
do  anything  more  until  July  or  August  of  the  next  year,  on  account  of 
the  deep  fall  of  snow.  We  could  dream  as  much  as  we  wanted  to 
about  the  mine  during  the  winter,  and  speculate  as  to  what  riches  it  was 
bound  to  produce  when  developed.  "Mother"  had  traded  her  ranch  at 
Wisdom  the  year  before  to  "Grandpa"  Francis,  for  two  houses  and  lots 
in  Dillon.  It  soon  became  evident,  after  election,  that  we  should  move 
to  Dillon  in  order  to  give  the  children  a  chance  to  go  to  school,  as  the 
teacher  at  the  Briston  school  house  would  not  give  them  any  attention.  I 
spent  part  of  my  time  in  Dillon,  the  balance  on  the  ranch.  It  required  a 
considerable  amount  of  attention  to  look  after  the  development  work  on  two 
large  ranches,  each  of  which  contained  over  4,000  acres.  The  Ajax  or 
Stanchfield  ranch  had  had  but  little  done  toward  making  it  a  successful 
venture  prior  to  our  taking  hold  of  it.  Miles  and  miles  of  ditches  and 
fences  had  to  be  constructed,  as  well  as  comfortable  quarters  for  the  men 
and  stock  to  be  erected. 

The  Highland  Water  company  was  to  develop  water  for  several 
thousand  acres  of  land.  B.  R.  Stevenson,  Frank  Brown  and  myself  had 
incorporated  a  company  called  the  Ruby  Water  company,  and  had  se- 
cured the  big  canal  formerly  built  by  the  Salt  Lake  Placer  Mining  com- 
pany out  of  Ruby  creek.  Don't  know  that  there  was  any  particular  reason 
why  we  should  have  done  this,  other  than  speculation,  as  no  one  of  us, 
except  Brown,  had  any  land  at  the  time  that  we  could  conduct  this  water 
to.  The  Salt  Lake  people  had  expended  a  considerable  amount  of  money 
in  the  construction  of  this  big  ditch.  It  was  dug  along  a  very  steep  hill 
side  for  quite  a  distance,  before  the  water  could  be  brought  to  place  of  use, 
a  bar  just  opposite  the  battle  ground,  and  only  a  half  a  mile  from  it. 
The  hillside  was  composed  of  clay  that  slumped  off  and  cut  down  in 
many  places.  Later  on  I  turned  my  interests  into  the  Highland  at  cost, 
and  Stevenson  and  Brown  disposed  of  their  interests  for  a  nominal  sum. 
The  actual  cost  of  putting  in  flumes  and  repairing  this  piece  of  property 
was   $16,000.         It   cost  money   to   ranch   as   well   as   mine.        Speaking 


106  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

of  this  ditch  reminds  me  of  the  only  time  Ed  Norris  ever  saw  it.  He, 
with  Mrs,  Norris,  came  to  the  Big  Hole  to  look  over  the  conditions.  They 
came  to  the  Ajax,  and  Mrs.  Norris  stayed  with  Mrs.  Noyes  at  the  hay 
camp  while  Ed,  J.  E.  Stevenson  and  I  went  to  look  over  the  Ruby  ditch. 
We  left  the  team  at  the  edge  of  the  timber,  close  to  where  the  ditch 
comes  upon  the  level  or  bench  land,  and  walked  up  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  to  its  head.  It  was  a  mighty  hot  day  in  summer  and  was  well  along 
toward  noon  when  we  got  to  this  part  of  our  journey.  Harry  Neal 
lived  on  Moose  Horn  creek,  a  short  distance  away,  or  at  least  I  thought  it 
was  only  a  short  way,  and  I  proposed  that  we  go  to  his  place  and  get 
dinner.  That  was  agreeable  to  all.  We  took  off  in  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion through  the  thick  timber  for  the  point  I  supposed  Harry's  house  to 
be.  We  walked  and  walked,  often  answering  Norris'  query  as  to  the 
distance  yet  to  be  gone  over  before  we  could  "eat  that  dinner?"  When 
we  did  at  last  arrive  at  Buckskin  Park,  a  landmark  that  was  well  known 
to  "Steve"  and  myself,  we  were  a  mile  from  dinner.  I  explained  to  Ed 
that  we  would  soon  be  there  and  he  said,  to  the  others.      "You  all  can 

follow  that  d n   fool   if   you   want   to;    I   am   going   for   that  team." 

"Well,  when  you  find  the  team,  which  will  be  about  five  miles  from  here, 
on  the  left  hand  road,  you  come  back  and  pick  us  up,"  I  said.  "Not  by 
a  damn  sight,"  he  said,  and  consigning  me  to  a  place  of  perpetual  tor- 
ment, he  struck  off  down  the  road  and  we  went  to  Harry's  and  got  din- 
ner. After  dinner  we  got  Harry  to  take  us  to  the  carriage,  which  he  was 
not  compelled  to  do,  as  we  met  the  future  governor  of  Montana,  looking 
as  happy  as  possible,  with  a  good  cigar  in  his  face,  and  driving  my  pet 
team,  the  "blacks."  I  didn't  much  blame  him  for  "bucking"  and  leaving 
us  that  day,  as  he  was  depending  on  me  and  I  had  not  been  over  the 
road  before  and  only  knew,  in  a  general  way,  where  we  were  going,  which 
was  actually  farther  than  I  thought.  We  told  him  what  a  nice  dinner 
Miss  Neal  had  gotten  up  for  us,  trying  to  make  it  as  disagreeable  as  we 
could  for  a  man  with  an  empty  stomach  by  speaking  in  delight  of  each  good 
article  that  had  been  set  before  us. 

Some  time  in  the  early  spring  Uncle  Will  wanted  to  make  a  trip  to 
the  mine  and  see  what  the  condition  would  be  like  at  that  season  of  the 
year.  We  had  left  bedding  and  grub  at  the  upper  cabin  for  the  con- 
venience of  any  one  who  might  be  caught  up  there  without  supplies.  We 
could  go  from  his  house  on  skiis.  It  was  1 2  miles  and  would  require 
about  six  hours  of  hard  travel.  We  had  measured  the  road  and  had  the 
miles  marked,  from  the  "lower"  cabin  to  Stanchfield's  ranch.  So  each 
mile  post  was  a  landmark.  When  we  got  to  the  "1  mile"  tree  the  snow 
was  just  eight  feet  deep.  By  the  time  we  arrived  at  the  upper  cabin 
we  had  gone  over  snow  forty  feet  deep.  The  cabin  was  covered  all 
over  with  snow,  but  there  was  a  kind  of  tunnel  along  the  east  side  that, 
by  getting  down  on  your  stomach  and  crawling,  you  could  reach  the  door, 
and  as  it  opened  on  the  inside  one  could  get  into  the  house.  Uncle  had 
left  dry  wood  enough  for  several  days,  when  he  broke  camp  in  the  fall,  and 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  107 

as  no  one  had  been  there  to  use  it,  we  soon  had  a  good  comfortable  fire 
and  a  hearty  meal.  Atter  a  rest,  we  made  the  trip  to  the  mine,  a  mile  anr' 
a  quarter  distance,  and  found  but  little  snow  on  the  surface  near  it,  as  all 
had  been  blown  down  to  make  great  big  drifts  at  more  convenient  places  for 
it  to  stick.  Early  the  next  mormng  we  started  and  arrived  at  the  ranch 
without  any  experience  worth  noting. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  snow  went  off.  Uncle  Will  took  some 
men  and  went  up  to  build  a  trawmay  from  the  "level,"  860  feet  below 
shaft  No.  2,  to  the  shaft.  Every  stick  of  timber  was  to  be  carried  on 
one's  back,  for  that  particular  piece  of  work.  It  was  not  an  easy  thing 
to  keep  men  who  were  willing  to  exert  themselves  at  such  hard  labor. 
Uncle  Will,  though  more  than  60  years  old,  took  the  lead  and  never  asked 
any  man  to  do  more  than  he  himself  was  willing  to  do.  It  required  some 
time  to  get  this  work  done.  This  tramway  was  to  be  made  of  poles  pinned 
to  cross  ties.  These  ties  were  about  six  feet  apart.  It  would  consist  of 
three  poles,  excepting  at  the  "turn,"  when  four  would  be  needed.  At 
the  upper  end,  near  the  shaft,  there  was  a  drum  worked  by  a  brake,  over 
which  the  cable  played,  to  allow  the  cars,  which  were  built  in  shape  of  a 
boat,  to  be  drawn  up  or  lowered.  The  full  car  hauled  the  empty  one  back. 
No  particular  work  could  be  done  in  the  mine  until  after  the  completion 
of  the  tramway,  as  there  was  no  place  to  pile  the  ore  on  the  mountain 
side  without  going  to  too  much  expense.  I  do  not  hecall  the  exact  amount 
of  time  required  for  the  construction  of  this  piece  of  work.  As  soon  as 
it  was  in  shape,  men  were  put  to  work  on  shaft  No.  2,  which  was  started 
at  the  place  where  the  lead  deposit  was  found.  No  ore  was  to  be  shipped 
except  that  which  carried  a  large  percentage  of  lead.  It  was  necessary 
to  build  some  kind  of  a  shack  over  the  shaft  to  protect  the  men  from 
the  high  winds  and  frequent  storms  that  came  at  this  season  of  the  year  at 
such  an  altitude  (9,700  feet).  The  ore  was  sacked,  loaded  into  the 
cars  and  turned  loose  down  the  mountain.  Any  little  mishap  and  a  car 
of  ore  was  distributed,  in  the  slide  rock,  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  tram- 
way, with  no  chance  of  ever  getting  any  of  it  again.  When  you  take  into 
consideration  that  each  car  had  from  one  to  and  one  and  a  fourth  tons 
of  ore,  valued  at  over  $90  per  ton,  it  was  not  a  laughable  matter  to  see 
that  much  money  lost  beyond  recovery.  And  yet,  the  men  could  not 
help  feeling  amused  at  such  an  occurrence.  "Just  see  those  sacks  fly!" 
they  would  say,  making  no  more  of  the  affair  than  they  would  had  they 
lost  a  white  chip  in  a  game  of  stud  poker.  Strowbridge  had  made  a  con- 
tract to  haul  the  ore  from  Wisdom  to  Divide  for  five  dollars  per  ton,  be- 
ing expense  money  for  his  back  trips.  We  hauled  the  ore  from  the  mine  to 
Wisdom  with  our  own  teams.  We  were  mighty  anxious  to  get  the  re- 
turns from  the  first  car  which  had  been  sent  to  Dillon.  In  due  time  it  came 
and  showed  a  net  result  of  nearly  $1,000.  Gosh!  But  wasn't  my  dream 
coming  true  in  fine  shape?  It  required  but  little  work  at  that  place  in  the 
mine  to  take  out  a  ton  of  ore.  They  found  about  three  feet  of  galena  by 
the  time  they  were  down  three  feet  and  when  they  were  down  seven  feet 


108  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

they  had  seven  and  a  half  feet  of  that  rich  lead  money  maker.  Just  think 
of  it!  seven  and  one  half  feet  of  ore  worth  about  $90.00  per  ton,  and 
a  fellow  only  down  seven  feet  in  this  vein!  Then,  too,  there  was  more  ore 
on  the  hanging  wall,  just  how  much,  we  did  not  know  at  that  time. 
Afterward,  we  found  that  the  vein  of  pay  rock  at  the  particular  point  was 
23  feet  wide.  As  above  mentioned  seven  and  a  half  feet  lead,  the  re- 
mainder good  fine  gold  that  could  only  be  taken  out  when  we  had  a  mill. 
As  soon  as  the  first  "piece"  of  actual  money  from  the  car  sent  to  Denver 
was  placed  in  the  bank  to  our  credit,  people  began  to  take  notice.  News- 
paper men  would  come  for  a  "story  on  the  Ajax,"  which  we  did  not  feel 
like  giving  until  we  were  positive  that  it  was  worth  a  "story."  While 
the  ore  was  being  taken  out,  I  was  attending  to  my  stock  business.  As  we 
were  getting  money  from  Governor  White  for  that  end  of  our  venture,  I 
could  not  afford  to  give  very  much  of  my  time  to  anything  else. 

During  that  fall  Henry  Neill,  state  land  agent,  came  up  to  the  Big 
Hole  to  look  over  the  state  lands.     I  was  with  him  for  several  days,  while 
he  was  at  this  work,  and  when  it  was  concluded,   asked  him  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  Ajax.     It  was  a  mighty  easy  thing  for  Henry  to  be  taken  with 
a  nice  team  to  the  "upper  cabin,"  but  not  an  easy  thing  for  one  of  his 
weight  to  make  the  balance  of  the  trip  up  the  trail.      I   guess  the  wind 
was  trying  to  see  what  it  could  do  that  day.      It  would  actually  pick  up 
good  sized  pieces  of  rock  and  hurl  them  at  one  with  shrieks  of  delight.      I 
am  not  real  sure  that  there  was  any  determined  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
wind  to  hit  a   fellow  with  any   particular  stone,   but  the  fact  was   that 
there  were  so  many  stones  loose  that  a  fellow  could  not  dodge  all  of  them. 
Henry  could  only  go  a  short  distance  before  he  was  compelled  to  sit  down. 
He  was  not  at  all  sure  of  himself   and  said  more  than  once:      "Noyes, 
I  do  not  believe  that  I  can  make  it."     I  kept  jollying  him  and  told  him 
that  it  was  a  sure  thing  he  would  get  up  to  the  shaft,  if  we  did  not  hurry. 
While  the  wind  was  almost  strong  enough  to  blow  me  from  one  shelf  back 
t  oanother,  I  was  not  distressed  in  any  way.     Neill,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
really   about   all   in,    and   feared   that   his   heart   might   go    back   on   him. 
After  the  longest  time  I  ever  spent  on  that  trail,  we  did  manage  to  arrive 
safely  at  the  shaft  house.     There  was  a  good  fire  and  a  comfortable  place 
for  one  to  sit  down  and  rest,  when  once  you  were  there.     The  vein  was 
very  flat  and  one  could  walk  down  the  foot  wall  without  fear  of  falling. 
As  soon  as  Neill  rested,  he  was  introduced  to  the  miners  and  given  a  candle 
for   further   investigation.      The   sight  that   met   his  vision  was  enough   to 
excite  any  one  who  had  ever  seen  a  piece  of  ore.     The  reflection  of  the 
candle  light  on  the  cubes  of  galena  caused  them  to  sparkle  like  thousands 
of  diamonds.      The  large  body  from  which  thousands  of  dollars  had  al- 
ready been  taken,  could  not  have  been  excavated  to  a  depth  of  more  than 
nine  feet  at  the  time  he  was  there.     A  cut  had  been  made  into  the  hang- 
ing streak  that  showed  a  large  body  of  free  ore  in  which  gold  could  be 
seen  with  the  naked  eye.     It  was  a  very  interesting  place  to  visit,  even  for 
one  who  had  no  interest  in  it;  to  me,  doubly  so.     We  stayed  at  the  mine 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  109 

until  the  men  were  ready  to  go  to  camp  for  the  night.     We  were  to  spend 
the  night  with  them  and  leave  for  Dillon  the  next  day. 

After  supper  the  men  were  gathered  in  the  bunk  house,  and  many 
stories  and  experiences  were  told  or  recalled.  Harry  Neill  was  a  splendid 
story  teller.  He  very  vividly  told  of  the  experience  he  had  on  a  trip  to 
Europe  and  entertained  the  boys  for  a  long  time  with  many  interesting 
things.  A  Frenchman,  Albert  Donay,  was,  apparently,  paying  attention 
to  a  disabled  alarm  clock.     He  did  not  seem  to  notice  anything  that  was 

going  on,  being  bent  on  trying  to  find  out  how  the  *'d n  Yankee"  made 

it.  After  Neill  had  gotten  through  with  his  story,  Bailard  requested  Donay 
to  tell  of  an  experience  he  had  once  in  New  York.  I  am  afraid  that 
Donay's  mind  had  not  been  tuned  along  the  higher  plane  of  decency  and  re- 
spectability, as  the  story  he  told  would  probably  do  in  a  mining  camp  among 
men  who  were  not  too  fastidious,  but  certainly  not  where  women  con- 
gregated. Neill  was  thunderstruck  and  had  no  more  to  say  that  evening. 
We  left  for  Dillon  the  next  morning  and  Henry  implored  me  to  let  him  go 
and  get  $200,000  for  us  for  the  Ajax  mine.  He  said  he  had  never  seen 
anything  to  equal  it  and  he  had  seen  mines  all  over  Montana.  What 
would  you  have  done,  Mr.  Reader,  under  the  same  circumstances?  I 
know  what  you  would  do  now.  What  would  you  have  done  then?  Given 
a  vein  that  was  exposed  along  a  mountain  side  for  miles,  a  great  big. 
strong  vein,  that  showed  pay  rock  in  more  than  one  place;  that  was  being 
developed  in  such  a  way  that  each  stick  of  blasting  powder  was,  appar- 
ently, opening  up  an  immense  treasure  house,  would  you  have  listened  to 
the  pleading  voice  of  Henry  and  sold  for  $200,000?  When  you  consider 
that  a  cubic  foot  of  lead  weighs  about  700  pounds,  and  that  that  chute  of 
ore  carried  over  60  per  cent  of  that  metal,  it  would  only  take  about  five 
feet  in  place  to  make  a  ton.  It  would  not  require  much  imagination  for 
one  to  think  it  possible  for  it  to  go  anyway  250  feet  into  the  mountain; 
a  very  little  effort  to  think  that  it  would  be  at  least  50  feet  long,  and  with 
a  known  width  of  seven  and  one-half  feet,  you  could  really  think  yourself 
possessed  of  93,750  cubic  feet,  that  would  be  18,750  tons,  worth  at 
$90  per  ton,  $1,687,500.00.  Crazy!  Yes,  crazy  for  taking  things 
for  truth  without  investigation,  especially  anything  that  its  truth  or  falsity 
was  capable  of  demonstration.  Yes,  you  wise  guys  would  have  sold  at 
the  price  offered,  but  we — we  were  not  wise.  Morse  said:  "These 
things  have  been  known  to  come  to  men  in  times  past,  why  isn't  it  possible 
that  they  have  come  to  us?  If  we  make  a  success  of  this,  we  will  be  called 
the  wisest  fellows  in  the  country;  if  we  fail — damn  fools."  We  played 
the  game  from  ante  to  show-down  and  but  little  was  lost  by  any  one  else. 
Every  time  a  pick  was  driven  in  or  a  shot  fired,  the  property  looked  better. 
The  next  year  we  made  up  our  minds  to  get  some  kind  of  a  mill.  We  did 
buy  and  haul  in  one  that  we  never  used,  that  cost  quite  a  lot  of  money, 
and  is  scattered  from  the  "Old  Faithful"  mine  on  Old  Baldy  through 
the  Big  Hole  to  the  Ajax.  It  required  much  thinking  and  a  whole  lot  of 
advice,  freely  given  from  every  mining  man,  or  so-called  mining  man,  that 


110  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

we  met  before  we  made  up  our  minds  to  buy  five  stamps  and  erect  a 
"stamp  mill."  We  did  not  know  where  we  could  get  a  man  that  could 
do  a  good  job  along  those  lines.  At  last  we  thought  of  Frank  Allen  of 
Gibbonsville,  Idaho.  Frank  had  erected  the  first  mill  in  Montana,  in 
Bannack,  in  the  early  days.  He  had  also  built  several  small  ones  in 
Gibbonsville.  Uncle  Will  and  I  went  to  see  him.  He  was  not  sure 
that  he  could  help  us,  but  agreed  to  let  us  know  soon.  We  needed  a 
saw  mill  with  which  to  get  the  timber  out  on  the  ground,  as  there  were 
plenty  logs  near  the  place  chosen  for  mill  site.  We  bought  a  small  steam 
engine  that  had  been  in  use  for  the  purpose  for  some  time.  This  had  to 
be  hauled  to  Wisdom,  over  a  fearful  mountain  road.  We  found  a 
man  willing  to  take  the  job,  contracted  with  him  to  do  so  and  started  for 
Butte  to  see  a  mill  that  had  been  erected  several  years  before,  about  1  8 
miles  from  that  place.  It  was  easy  to  buy  this  mill  for  the  sum  of  $1 ,000, 
a  small  part  of  the  original  cost.  Clarence  Strowbridge  had  agreed  to 
haul  it  for  us,  if  we  made  the  purchase.  A  saw  mill  was  ordered  from 
Missoula  and  Uncle  and  I  returned  to  the  Big  Hole.  Frank  Allen  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  build  the  mill  for  us.  We  took  our  men  and  began 
the  preliminary  work,  such  as  cutting  logs,  clearing  a  place  for  the  mill 
and  excavating  for  the  site.  All  this  work  was  in  the  hands  of  Aller.  It 
is  no  easy  job  to  construct  a  quartz  mill  75  miles  from  the  railroad,  where 
the  machinery  must  be  hauled  over  roads  that  have  not  been  worked 
enough  to  make  solid.  Some  of  these  pieces  weighed  over  9,000  pounds 
and  were  extremely  hard  to  handle.  Clarence  had  two  good  boys  work- 
ing for  him,  Jakey  Louk  and  Harry  Kanute.  These  boys  could  get  about 
all  the  pull  there  was  in  a  team  at  the  right  time,  and  if  by  any  mischance 
they  could  not  get  the  "string"  team  through  the  timber  without  running 
into  a  tree,  they  would  take  everything  as  it  came  and  make  no  particular 
roar  about  it.  To  us,  things  dragged  and  were  going  slow.  We  were  anx- 
ious to  see  those  stamps  drop  and  see  the  results,  which  we  could  only  be- 
lieve would  be  favorable.  New  cabins  must  be  built  for  cook  and  bunk 
houses,  blacksmith,  assay  office,  stables,  tramways  were  to  be  erected  to 
take  place  of  the  one  already  built,  at  such  a  cost  of  time  and  labor.  Ore 
houses,  a  house  at  the  mouth  of  No.  2  tunnel,  cabins  for  the  wood 
choppers,  stables  for  the  horses,  at  the  lower  and  upper  camps,  which 
were  three-quarters  of  a  mlie  apart;  timber  for  stulls  were  to  be  cut  and 
p)eeled.  Copper  plate  from  San  Francisco  must  be  ordered  and  delivered 
by  the  time  the  mill  was  ready.  A  concentrating  table  was  to  be  bought 
and  hauled  from  Anaconda.  Busy  times  up  the  Swamp  Creek  canyon 
that  summer  and  fall.  Miners  were  at  work  developing  more  ore,  every 
one  was  on  the  qui  vive.  While  all  this  work  was  going  on  up  in  the  Big 
Hole  country,  Mr.  Morse  was  exceedingly  busy  in  the  development  of 
the  large  grain  and  alfalfa  ranch  on  the  bench  north  of  Dillon.  He  was  to 
say  to  the  waters  of  Birch  creek:  "You  have  rushed  heedlessly,  carelessly, 
in  fact,  criminally,  to  join  the  waters  of  the  sea.  You  may  have  quenched 
the  thirsty  even  in  your  haste,  but  they  had  to  snatch  it  from  your  rest- 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  111 

less  bosom,  as  you  flowed  unchecked  and  uncontrolled,  unmindful  of  the 
duty  you  owed  mankind  in  your  mad  desire  to  unite  the  mountain  and  the 
gulf.  I  will  prove  to  you,  great  power  that  you  are,  that  the  puny  hand 
of  man  will  stop  your  hitherto  refractory  career  and  bind  in  strength  of 
'tripple  brass'  each  drop  and  make  it  answer,  when  the  time  is  ripe,  the 
great  desire  of  a  thirsty  soil.     You  must  succumb  and  I  will  be  the  means." 

A  benefactor  of  his  race  is  one  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  only  one  has  grown.  If  that  be  so,  J.  E.  Morse  has  been  a  bene- 
factor of  his  race.  He  has  controlled  the  water  that  would  naturally  be 
useless,  and  held  it  back  to  be  used  at  a  time  when  it  was  needed.  The 
great  broad  acres  of  grain  and  alfalfa  proved  that  the  piece  of  land 
selected  by  Granville  Stuart,  and  for  which  he  received  more  or  less 
adverse  criticism,  could  be  made  valuable  by  its  alliance  with  Birch  creek 
water.  I  don't  believe  that  J.  E.  Morse  or  anyone  else  ever  spent  his  time 
and  money  to  bring  the  water  from  a  mountain  stream  to  the  hitherto 
sun-baked  bench  lands  of  Montana  simply  for  the  reason  they  wanted 
to  be  classed  as  benefactors.  There  is  always  something  of  a  personal 
nature  that  enters  into  any  large  undertaking.  When  Joe  Furley  put  the 
matter  of  making  dams,  on  the  head  of  Birch  creek,  to  Morse,  they  were 
both  very  enthusiastic  as  to  final  results.  Morse  did  not  have  any  par- 
ticular amount  of  money  that  was  loose  for  such  an  undertaking,  and 
Joe  proved  early  in  the  game  that  he  could  not  keep  up  his  end.  Morse 
was  as  full  of  resources  as  a  pod  is  full  of  seeds;  while  he  might  get 
discouraged  at  times  and  not  feel  sure  as  to  where  the  next  turn  would 
place  him,  he  always  worked  with  the  view  of  ultimate  success.  As 
Governor  White  said:  "Morse  is  a  mighty  resourceful  cuss."  He  did 
not  drink  or  gamble  and  was  tireless  in  his  efforts  to  see  that  everything 
was  done  at  the  right  time,  with  the  exception  that  he  was  careless  in  regard 
to  the  detail  work  of  the  Ajax  mine. 

As  mentioned  before,  we  were  so  anxious  to  see  the  work  completed 
at  the  mill.  This  was  not  done  until  late  in  the  fall  or  early  winter. 
When  the  mill  was  completed,  it  had  not  been  constructed  along  lines 
of  wise  engineering.  The  ore  bins  were  flat  bottomed  boxes,  made  as 
some  of  the  boys  said:  "To  give  more  men  work  than  to  make  the 
economical  handling  of  the  ore  for  the  mill  owner."  The  tramways 
were  not  built  uniform  in  grade,  hence  many  cars  of  splendid  ore  was 
ruthlessly  destroyed.  The  ore  house  above  the  mill,  750  feet  away,  was 
built  at  a  point  where  the  most  snow  was  known  to  pile  up,  instead  of  a 
point  that  I  had  selected,  just  a  short  distance  below  the  boarding  house 
and  the  brow  of  the  hill.  The  place  that  I  had  picked  was  probably 
1  50  feet  further  from  the  mill  than  the  one  chosen.  It  would  have  made 
the  first  cost  a  little  more,  but  was  at  a  point  where  it  would  have  been 
free  from  drifting  snow,  therefore  in  the  long  run  would  have  been  a 
great  saving.  While  we  are  waiting  for  that  beastly  mill  to  get  started, 
we  can  spend  a  little  time  in  describing  what  was  going  on  in  the  way 
of   development  on  the  lead.      The  old  shaft,   instead  of  being  80   feet 


112  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

deep,  as  Brown  had  assured  us  it  was,  proved  to  be  when  pumped  out  only 
40  feet.  Frank  had  said  that  the  ore  was  just  as  good  in  the  bottom  as 
any  other  place.  Maybe  that  was  true,  and  might  have  been  a  good 
indication  that  further  investigation,  too  strenuously  followed,  would  prove 
disastrous.  Brown  and  his  partners  of  the  Salmon  River  country  had 
owned  the  lead  for  several  years.  They  had  run  a  little  cut  at  the  lowest 
point  of  exposure,  probably  1  0  feet  long.  They  had  gone  about  1  5  feet 
in  No.  3  and  sunk  the  discovery  shaft  40  feet.  When  they  found  that 
they  had  gone  through,  or  lost  the  ore  in  this  shaft,  they  were  not  very 
enthusiastic  about  doing  more  work.  The  melting  snow  would  always 
leave  the  bottom  of  that  shaft  a  mystery,  so  far  as  the  casual  observer  was 
concerned.  One  would  need  a  good  sized  pump  with  which  to  hoist  the 
water  and  see  what  was  below.  These  men  had  not  gone  up  the  hill 
to  the  point  where  I  made  the  find  of  galena  ore.  When  we  found  out 
that  Brown  et  al.  had  stopped  because  the  ore  had  played  out,  we  didn't 
care,  as  we  were  then  to  mine.  Men  were  put  to  work  to  unwater  the 
shaft  and  see  what  it  contained.  It  only  required  a  little  expenditure  to 
find  that  Brown  had  stopped  at  a  fault  and  that  a  large  body  of  good 
free  milling  ore  was  and  is  continuing  on  its  way  into  that  mountain.  Shaft 
No.  2  was  getting  to  be  too  deep  to  haul  ore  by  windless  and  an  effort 
was  made  to  start  a  drift  from  the  bottom  of  it  to  the  surface  or  side  of 
the  mountain.  It  would  have  been  v^ser,  as  we  afterward  found,  to  have 
begun  this  work  from  the  outside  and  run  in  on  the  lead.  The  real  reason 
for  beginning  inside  was  that  we  had  shaft  house,  tramway  and  drum 
already  built.  A  beginning  on  the  outside  would  have  caused  a  whole  lot 
of  work  and  expense,  especially  at  that  season  of  the  year,  winter,  before 
any  actual  work  on  the  mine  could  have  been  done.  The  drift  to  the  sur- 
face was  a  peculiar  one  when  finished.  The  boys  started  out  with  good 
enough  intentions,  no  doubt,  but  as  they  were  to  follow  the  ore  streak, 
they  soon  became  hopelessly  lost  so  far  as  the  point  they  had  started  for 
was  concerned.  After  putting  in  a  whole  lot  of  time,  our  French  friend, 
Albert  Donay,  a  splendid  worker,  but  quite  rattle-headed,  came  out  with 
excitement  depicted  in  every  line  of  his  face,  with  the  news  that  he  had 
broken  into  some  old  workings;  that  some  one  must  have  mined  in  that 
particular  place  in  pre-historic  times.  On  investigation  it  was  found  that 
they  had  run  in  a  half  circle  and  hit  pretty  near  the  top  of  the  old  Brown 
or  No.  I  shaft.  I  guess  that  it  was  a  good  thing  for  us  that  Frenchy 
had  done  the  work,  because  if  they  hadn't  found  it,  they  would  have 
come  back  and  broken  into  the  workings  where  they  began.  Kind  of 
funny,  wasn't  it?  Yes,  it  was,  in  a  way,  but  when  a  fellow  had  expected 
to  come  out,  with  a  certain  amount  of  labor,  to  the  outside  of  a  mountain, 
and  found  that  his  work  had  been  simply  to  find  a  shaft  that  had  never  been 
lost  and  that  was  no  good  when  found,  it  did  not  strike  us  as  particularly 
amusing.  There  was  a  fairly  good  reason  for  having  made  this  blunder. 
The  lead  was  much  wider  than  any  of  us  supposed  at  this  point,  being, 
in  fact,  about  23  feet  of  pay  ore,  that  was  not  of  the  same  general  char- 


THE  STORY  OF  •AJAX"  113 

acter  to  the  eye  of  the  ordinary  miner.  As  it  was  not  in  a  compact  body, 
being  full  of  seams,  they  would  follow  one  of  them,  taking  it  for  the 
hanging  wall,  when,  in  fact,  the  hanging  wall  was  15  or  20  feet  away. 
This  blunder  helped  to  develop  a  body  of  ore  that  might  not  have  been 
found  for  some  time  to  come.  These  very  seams  fooled  some  of  the  best 
miners  we  had  for  quite  a  while,  even  in  other  portions  of  the  mine. 

When  spring  came,  work  was  commenced  on  Tunnel  No.  1 ,  and 
soon  came  to  these  "old  workings."  From  the  mouth  of  No.  1  back  for 
about  1  00  feet  was  certainly  a  large  body  of  ore,  good,  bad,  etc.  This 
tunnel  was  driven  on  under  and  to  the  east  of  the  big  bunch  of  galena 
ore  described  on  top.  The  big  "pocket"  was  lost  completely  and  no  one 
could  tell  where  it  had  gone.  Tunnel  No.  2  was  commenced  some  70  or 
80  feet  down  the  mountain  and  tapped  the  vein  at  a  fault,  as  only  the 
"schist  filling"  of  the  vein  was  in  evidence.  Scott  Galbraith  had  charge 
of  the  work  at  this  place  and  was  much  discouraged  at  the  results.  I 
think  that  he  must  have  been  in  1 50,  maybe  1 65  feet  when  "mother" 
and  I  visited  the  mine.  We  went  back  into  the  face  and  not  a  sign  of 
ore  was  in  sight.  Mighty  discouraging.  This  tunnel  had  cost  a  whole  lot 
of  money  and  was  disappointing  in  more  ways  than  one.  We  had  good 
ore  70  or  80  feet  above,  and  good  ore  down  400  to  500  feet  in  No. 
3  on  the  surface,  and  why  there  should  not  be  pay  here  was  a  problem 
we  could  not  understand.  Scott  volunteered  that  in  his  opinion  the  lead 
was  no  good  and  that  there  was  a  pot  hole  or  bunch,  above,  but  nothing 
below,  and  that  we  were  foolish  to  spend  our  money  in  any  further  work 
on  No.  2. 

As  "mother"  was  as  much  interested  as  I  in  this  matter,  I  asked 
her  what  we  had  better  do.  She  said:  "Go  ahead  as  long  as  we  can 
get  a  cent.  We  are  too  far  in  to  quit  now."  I  turned  to  "Scotty"  and 
said  :  "There  must  be  some  ore  here  some  place,  and  so  far  as  you  are 
concerned,  you  need  not  worry;  you  will  get  your  pay.  It  is  our  money 
that  pays  the  bills  and  when  we  tell  you  to  stop  will  be  soon  enough. 
You  stop  driving  ahead  and  run  a  cross-cut  here  and  see  what  you  find." 
The  place  indicated  was  at  the  face  of  the  tunnel  and  toward  what  I  sup- 
posed to  be  the  foot  wall.  "Mother"  and  I  left  the  hill  for  the  ranch,  and 
the  men  went  to  work  on  the  cross-cut,  with  the  result  that  they  ran  into 
a  vein  of  pay  ore,  after  going  only  a  couple  of  feet,  seven  feet  thick.  A 
raise  was  begun  at  this  place,  and  the  ore  was  followed  up  and  into  No. 
1 .  Two  or  three  years  afterward,  a  cut  was  made  in  the  hanging  wall, 
near  this  same  place  and  exposed  six  feet  of  galena  ore  that  is,  at  this 
writmg,  intact.  A  good  miner  generally,  especially  when  he  knows  there 
is  ore  in  a  lead,  cross-cuts  often  when  driving  a  tunnel,  if  not  on  an  ore  chute 
Scott  had  been  just  unlucky  enough  to  go  into  that  hill  165  feet  over  one 
chute  of  ore  and  under  another,  and  had  run  for  a  good  many  feet  right 
on  top  of  the  under  or  foot  wall  chute.  Another  peculiar  condition  that 
confronted  us  was  this:  When  they  tried  to  follow  up  the  foot  wall 
chute,  in  the  raise  they  were  driving,  they  left  a  face  of  nine  feet  of  $20 


114  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

gold  ore.  This  was  a  mighty  pretty  thing.  Several  of  the  experts, 
James  Neill,  Geo.  Towers,  Fred  Green,  Jim  Harvey  and  Tom  Landers, 
took  samples  of  this  and  made  many  favorable  comments  concerning 
it.  Years  after,  when  we  decided  to  open  this  body(?)  of  ore,  to  run 
it  through  the  mill,  it  only  proved  to  be  two  feet  thick,  simply  a  skim 
pasted  onto  the  country  rock. 

Well,  the  long-looked  for  day  has  come  to  drop  the  stamps!  We 
can't  begin  to  spend  the  money  that  we  are  to  make  now!  Everything 
will  turn  out  for  the  best  and  the  long  hard  pull  that  we  have  made  to 
get  this  far  will  have  been  all  the  one  necessary,  as  we  are  to  glide  with 
the  stream  from  now  on.  Surely  a  mill  that  would  crush  1 2  to  13  tons 
of  ore  per  day  was,  when  used  on  such  ore,  to  make  a  "killing"  for  us. 
After  the  mill  had  been  running  several  days,  Mr.  Morse  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  we  had  better  go  up  and  fetch  the  brick  out.  W.  H. 
Graham  of  Butte,  a  mill  man,  and  George  Ducharme,  an  amalgamator, 
wanted  to  go  up  and  see  mill  and  mine.  Ducharme  had  tested  some 
ore  for  us  at  the  Vipond  mill  and  believed  we  had  a  splendid  thing,  as 
the  ore  sent  him  made  good  returns.  The  trip  was  made  without  any  par- 
ticular thing  of  note  to  record,  excepting  the  deep  snow  that  was  en- 
countered, which  did  not  bother  us,  as  my  team  would  keep  to  any  track 
no  matter  how  deep  the  snow  was.  Graham  and  Ducharme  were  taken  to 
the  mine  and  were  very  much  pleased  with  the  showing.  They  were 
sure  that  such  a  large  body  of  ore,  known  to  be  good,  would  make  quite 
a  stir  in  the  mining  world.  The  manner  in  which  the  mill  had  been 
constructed  did  not  appeal  to  them  in  the  least,  as  it  required  too  many 
men  to  do  the  work.  We  told  Allen  to  clean  up  while  we  were  there 
and  we  would  take  the  gold  out  with  us.  Allen  had  full  charge  of 
the  running  of  the  mill.  Tom  Landers  was  doing  the  assaying  and  we 
supposed  we  were  in  shape  to  know  what  we  were  about.  The  mill  had 
been  dropping  stamps  for  23  days  and  taking  care  of  I  3  tons  each  24  hours. 
The  ore  averaged  about  $12.00  per  ton  in  gold,  besides  lead  and  silver. 
Tom  Landers  was  a  competent  assayer  and  reliable.  He  knew  what  that 
ore  contained  at  the  heading,  the  point  where  it  run  onto  the  table,  and 
what  the  tailings  carried.  We  received  that  first  clean  up  and  while 
it  did  not  worry  the  horses  to  pull  it  out,  we  were  much  worried  over  the 
result,  as  the  brick  was  an  exceedingly  small  one,  when  it  should  have 
been  several  pretty  fair  sized  ones. 

We  made  up  our  minds  then  and  there  that  we  would  let  Allen  go 
and  put  some  one  else  in  charge.  Graham  and  Ducharme  agreed  to 
take  over  this  work;  as  soon  as  they  could  go  to  Butte  and  get  their  tools 
and  get  back.  They  had  assured  us  that  they  would  take  that  mill  and, 
if  the  ore  was  as  good  as  Landers'  assays  showed,  they  would  show  us 
results  altogether  different  the  next  clean  up.  When  we  looked  at  that 
little  brick  we  were  certainly  sick.  We  had  spent  thousands  of  dollars 
up  to  this  time,  most  every  dollar  of  it  borrowed  from  the  bank.  We 
knew  that  there  was  a  good  body  of  ore;  that  Landers,  a  good  assayer. 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  115 

had  proved  by  the  fire,  contained  pay.  We  had  a  mill,  known  to  crush 
so  many  tons  of  ore  per  day,  and  here  was  the  result  of  23  days'  work 
a  little  piece  of  gold  weighing  about  20  ounces,  and  worth  at  Boise,  Idaho, 
U.  S.  assay  office  three  hundred  and  forty -one  dollars.  God!  What 
had  we  done  to  deserve  such  a  return  for  the  money  spent,  the  time  wasted 
in  trying  to  make  that  old  mountain  give  forth,  to  the  use  of  the  world, 
some  of  her  hidden  treasure!  Certainly  there  was  something  wrong! 
THREE  HUNDRED  FORTY-ONE  DOLLARS!  The  returns  of 
299  tons  of  ore,  assay  value  $3,588!  After  all  reasonable  loss  of  the 
amount  bound  to  run  into  the  tailings,  there  was  still  to  be  accounted  for 
$2,797.  We  certainly  felt  like  shutting  the  mill  down,  but  as  drowning 
men  always  clutch  at  the  straw,  vs^e  felt  a  little  encouragement  by  the  prom- 
ises made  by  Graham,  Ducharme  and  Tom  Landers,  that  they  could  and 
would  show  money  at  the  end  of  their  run.  Our  trip  to  the  mine  also  proved 
to  us  the  faulty  manner  in  which  the  ore  bins  and  tramways  had  been  con- 
structed as  to  saving  labor.  The  upper  tram  did  not  drift  under  very 
often,  but  the  lower  one  was  pretty  sure  to  be  covered  ^vith  a  big  amount 
of  snow  each  morning  and  always  when  the  winds  came  tearing  down  the 
canyon  it  would  require  an  immense  lot  of  work  with  snow  shovelers  to 
clear  things  so  ore  could  be  lowered  to  the  mill.  The  roads  would  drift 
full  and  build  up  so  that  the  ends  of  the  singletrees  would  hit  the  trees 
20  feet  above  the  ground.  A  blizzard  would  come  roaring  down  the 
mountain  side  at  night  and  fill  the  road  full.  It  would  be  impassable  for 
teams  the  next  morning;  then  it  became  necessary  to  put  every  miner  to 
fighting  snow,  instead  of  breaking  rock.  When  you  take  into  consideration 
that  we  were  paying  the  men  $3.50  per  day  and  that  the  whole  force 
of  1 4  men  would  be  shoveling  snow  that  was  as  restless  as  a  mountain 
stream,  that  would  be  back  onto  that  same  piece  of  road  probably  the 
next  morning,  it  made  the  heart  sick  and  the  bank  account  (?)  grow 
slim.  I  do  not  believe  that  I  am  making  an  exaggerated  statement  to 
say  that  we  shoveled  ten  thousand  dollars  into  snow  while  we  were  work- 
ing the  mine. 

This  amount  of  money  would  have  more  than  paid  for  the  erection 
of  an  aerial  tram  that  would  have  carried  the  ore  from  the  mine  to  mill 
for  a  nominal  sum,  and  hauled  to  the  mine  the  timber  needed  for  mining 
purposes.  You  ask,  why  a  man  of  such  known  business  acumen  as  J.  E, 
Morse  should  not  have  dropped  onto  this  leakage  in  the  first  place,  and 
stopped  it  by  the  erection  of  a  tram?  I  will  attempt,  in  my  poor  way, 
to  answer  this:  In  the  first  place,  men  do  not  go  into  the  mining  business 
as  they  do  into  others.  The  prospector  takes  his  pack  outfit  and 
strikes  out  for  the  section  of  country  that  he  believes  virgin.  He  finds 
float,  which  he  traces  to  the  croppings  or  rock  in  place,  and  sinks  a  shaft 
or  runs  a  tunnel.  In  ail  probability  he  finds  what  he  considers  pay. 
The  returns  from  an  assay  office  proves  that  the  ore  contains  values.  Now, 
if  he  can  find  ore  in  sufficient  quantity,  he  begins  to  consider  the  ways 
and  means  of  realizmg  somethmg  from  his  prospect.      He  has  been  a  man 


116  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

that  has  lived  for  years  with  the  hope  of  a  sure  success  at  no  distant  day. 
He  has  never  accumulated  any  money  with  which  to  develop  a  mine  if 
he  does  find  a  prospect.  It  was  possible  for  any  man,  with  the  most 
limited  means,  to  go  to  the  hills  and  find  something  that  looked  good 
and  that  would  apparently  justify  the  expenditure  of  quite  a  lot  of  money 
in  its  development.  If  he  did  not  have  the  money — and  he  didn't — -he 
would  probably  sit  near  his  camp  fire  and  think,  think,  think  how  he 
was  to  get  any  returns  for  the  years  he  had  put  in  hunting  for  a  favor- 
able prospect.  It  was  possible  that  a  rich  chute  could  be  opened,  and 
the  ore  shipped  to  the  mill  or  smelter.  It  was  possible  to  find  gold  ore 
rich  enough  to  pay  in  a  small  arastra  that  could  be  built  with  little  ex- 
pense by  the  man  himself.  It  was  possible  to  get  some  one  with  money 
to  go  in  and  help  build  a  small  stamp  mill  that  paid  from  the  beginning 
and  developed  the  mine  into  a  big  property.  It  was  also  quite  probable 
that  the  prospector  was  too  sanguine  as  to  final  outcome ;  was  actually 
intoxicated  with  excitement  over  his  find,  and  did  not  "sober  up"  until 
he  found  every  hope  blasted.  He  was  the  unsuccessful  one.  He  might 
have  cheated  himself  by  taking  the  best  piece  of  ore  to  the  assayer,  instead 
of  a  careful  sample  of  the  vein ;  so  really  he  had  no  foundation  on  which 
to  begin.  Again,  it  is  quite  possible  that  there  is  a  certain  amount  of 
money  on  hand  for  the  development,  but  not  in  quantity  sufficient  to  make 
the  mine.  If  he  has  lots  of  faith,  he  goes  ahead  with  what  he  has  and 
bets  that  he  will  find  some  of  the  favorable  conditions  that  have  been 
known  to  exist  in  mining  history.  It  is  possible  and  more  or  less  probable 
that  he  spends  his  money  without  finding  any  of  the  favorable  conditions 
and  fails,  even  though  he  has  a  piece  of  property  that  would  have  been 
valuable  if  some  certain  thing  had  been  done,  or  other  left  undone.  In 
other  words,  his  money  has  not  been  spent  to  the  best  advantage;  he  has 
taken  the  gambler's  chance,  and  lost.  It  is  true  that  there  is  nothing  that 
is  as  alluring,  fascinating,  entrancing  and  interesting  as  mining.  If  once 
begun,  it  holds  one's  mind  perpetually  with  the  desire  and  hope  of  future 
wealth  gained  in  that  way.  It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  no  two  things 
can  be  exactly  alike.  Hence  no  two  mines  will  be  alike.  The  rich 
chute  found  in  one  may  never  be  found  in  another.  Probably  the  rich  chute 
or  bunch  of  ore  is  the  worst  thing  one  can  find,  unless  he  takes  advantage 
of  it  and  sells,  as  it  is  apt  to  lead  to  much  future  worry  and  many  dis- 
appointments. 

I  met  a  man  from  Colorado  who  had  taken  two  million  dollars  out 
of  a  "pocket  mine,"  and  who  was  broke  at  the  time  I  met  him.  He  had 
not  spent  his  money  in  riotous  living;  by  means  of  the  gaming  table, 
the  sparkling  wine,  nor  lost  it  to  the  charms  of  some  fickle  but  beauti- 
ful woman.  No,  he  had  spent  the  money  from  one  "pocket"  to  find 
another,  a  thing  more  deadly  in  its  fascination  than  the  alluring  smile  of 
any  siren.  This  man  was  only  one  of  hundreds  that  played  the  game  in 
just  that  way.  The  old  Dakota  mine  at  Bannack,  in  the  early  days, 
was  the   "pocket"   mine   into  which  you  were  apt  to  put  more   than  you 


THE  STORY  OF  'AJAX"  117 

could  take  out.  (Not  the  way  with  most  pockets).  In  the  early  days  of 
Butte  men  found  mines,  or  more  strictly  speaking,  had  claims,  that  had 
enough  float  to  make  them  wealthy.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  pick  up 
the  ore  and  put  it  in  a  wagon  and  ship  it  to  the  railroad  at  Corinne, 
Utah,  where  it  was  taken  to  the  smelter  at  Salt  Lake,  or  maybe  to 
Swansee,  Wales,  for  treatment.  This  was  gold-silver  ore.  Any  number 
of  the  Butte  mines  had  pay  from  the  grass  roots  down  that  helped  to  pay 
or  did  pay  all  the  development  in  the  "making  of  a  mine."  If  a  poor 
man  found  one  of  these  he  could  become  wealthy  by  paying  attention 
to  business.  The  copper  mines  of  Butte  did  not  show  pay  in  copper,  on 
the  surface.  The  Anaconda  was  bought  by  Marcus  Daly  for  $30,000 
(the  same  mine  or  claim  had  been  sold  for  $150.00  by  the  man  who 
first  staked  it,  I  have  been  told.)  He  did  not  believe  that  he  had  a  valu- 
able claim  unless  he  could  get  some  men  with  money  for  its  developemnt  to 
go  in  with  him.  He  found  these  men  in  Haggin,  Tevis  and  Hearst.  The 
Dexter  mill  property  of  W.  A.  Clark  was  leased  and  the  surface  rock — 
gold-silver  ore  of  the  Anaconda — run  through,  with  the  result,  so  I  have 
been  told,  that  $280,000  net  was  taken  out  in  less  than  a  year.  Daly  had 
mined  enough  to  think  that  he  could  not  handle  the  Anaconda  alone. 
There  had  been  no  development  on  the  mine.  He  could  not  see  the  $280,- 
000  that  was  so  easy  to  be  had,  with  big  copper  to  come  when  the  gold- 
silver  rock  quit  (in  fact,  gold  and  silver  have  not  quit  in  the  mines  of 
Butte,  as  the  copper  ore  contains  these  metals  also),  or  he  might  have 
become  the  sole  owner  of  one  of  the  biggest  copper  properties  in  the 
world.  (Long  before  Daly,  copper  matt  was  made  in  a  rude  smelter 
in  Butte  and  shipped  down  the  Missouri  in  a  flat  boat,  to  be  lost,  never 
to  be  recovered,  where  the  Missouri  enters  the  Mississippi).  The  old 
Dexter  mill  pounded  out  many  thousand  dollars,  but  did  not  get  many 
from  the  "Travonia,"  the  mine  that  really  was  the  one  to  give  new  life  to 
the  old  placer  camp  and  make  her  the  queen  of  the  Treasure  State. 

F.  Aug.  Heinze  came  to  Butte  as  a  young  boy  of  20,  fresh  from 
Columbia  university;  a  young  mining  engineer.  There  were  several  min- 
ing engineers  and  surveyors  in  Butte  before  the  advent  of  F.  Augustus — 
Baker  &  Harper,  Wilson  and  Gillie  were  and  had  been  for  years. 
Heinze  saw  something  that  they  knew,  but  had  not  taken  advantage  of, 
the  fractions.  It  is  quite  evident  that  he  saw  these  things  in  a  different 
light  than  these  other  men.  He  had  worked,  as  an  engineer,  underground, 
and  no  doubt  had  access  to  several  mines,  other  than  the  ones  in  which 
he  was  engaged.  He  saw  what  these  mines  contained  and  knew  where 
the  ore  bodies  were.  It  was  a  simple  thing  for  him  to  see  that  a  frac- 
tion would  be  the  entering  wedge  that  would  split  the  combination  or 
make  it,  through  endless  law  suits,  accept  of  his  terms  for  millions.  He 
had  been  brought  up  under  different  environments  than  the  engineers  above 
referred  to.  He  had  lived  in  the  great  city  of  New  York,  where  men 
had  learned,  if  they  were  wise,  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity. 
He  had  backing  in  a   financial  way  that  these  other  men  lacked;  hence. 


118  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

"Fritz"  Heinze  became  one  of  the  best  known  of  the  mining  men  in 
America,  or  the  world,  in  fact.  Only  those  under  the  ground  can  tell 
what  is  going  on  down  there.  The  man  who  owns  the  shaft  can,  or 
could,  forbid  any  one  to  enter.  Hence,  he  had  a  wonderful  advantage 
over  the  men  on  the  adjoining  claims,  who  were  unable  to  sink  for  lack 
of  funds.  If  he  is  dishonest  he  can  take  their  ore,  and  they  may  never 
be  any  wiser.  The  diamond  drill  can  reach  out  in  any  direction  and  the 
"core"  will  prove  the  exact  condition  of  the  claims  thus  prospected.  Many 
men  have  been  robbed  in  this  way,  and  are  not  aware  of  the  fact  yet. 

I  have  said  that  the  "core"  of  the  diamond  drill  "would  prove  the 
exact  condition  of  the  claims  prospected."  It  will  prove  the  condition  of 
the  rock  encountered,  but  may,  and  is  apt  to,  find  a  fault — that  leads 
to  serious  effects.  If  it  is  true  that  Daly  had  prospected  for  the  ore  in  the 
claim  Pat  Largey  wished  to  sell  him  for  $150,000,  and  that  the  drill 
did  not  indicate  pay,  then  there  was  a  serious  effect  for  Daly  and  splen- 
did one  for  the  Largey  estate.  The  great  mining  town  of  Butte  has  caused 
many  heart  aches.  Some  came  to  the  men  who  sold  too  soon;  some  came 
to  those  who  did  not  have  money  to  develop  and  lost  to  some  who  took 
advantage  of  their  poverty.  Millions  were  spent  in  sinking  shafts  to  un- 
cover ore  that  by  all  the  rules  and  chances  of  mining  should  have  been 
there  but  was  not. 

The  men  that  discovered  the  Hecla  mines  in  Beaverhead  county  re- 
ceived but  little  for  their  work.  These  mines,  on  Lion  mountain  (by  the 
way,  many  of  those  who  spoke  of  Lion  mountain  do  not  have  any  idea 
how  it  came  by  the  name.  Bob  McConnell,  one  of  the  discoverers  told 
me  the  following:  "Dr.  Click,  one  of  the  boys,  was  a  great  fellow  to 
fill  up  on  'forty-rod.'  When  under  the  influence  he  was  apt  to  see 
things.  He  came  rushing  into  camp  one  day,  swearing  he  had  just  seen 
a  'white  mountain  lion.'  Several  of  the  boys,  anxious  to  see  such  a 
curiosity,  got  their  guns  and  followed  Doc  in  quest  of  his  prize,  which 
proved,  on  investigation,  to  be  an  old  white  jackass  that  belonged  to  one 
of  the  party.  Doc  never  heard  the  last  of  the  'V/hite  Lion.'  It  was 
because  of  this  incident  that  Lion  mountain  received  its  name."),  could 
only  be  developed  through  the  use  of  considerable  capital.  Noah  Arm- 
strong spent  a  whole  lot  of  money  in  the  attempt  to  make  a  mine,  and  he 
may  have  made  some  money.  When  Henry  Knippenberg  took  hold  of 
the  business  there  was  an  indebtedness  of  thousands.  Mr.  Knippenberg 
told  J.  E.  Morse  and  myself  in  Melrose  one  night  long  after  the  Hecla 
had  closed  down  the  following  story:  "When  I  came  to  the  United 
States  from  Germany  I  happened  to  get  acquainted  with  a  countryman  of 
mine.  This  old  gentleman  was  quite  wealthy.  He  took  a  liking  to  me 
and  gave  me  much  wholesome  advice.  When  I  found  out  the  exact 
financial  condition  of  our  company  and  after  having  satisfied  myself  that 
a  certain  amount  of  money  would  place  the  mines  on  a  paying  basis,  I 
wrote  to  this  gentleman,  explaining  just  what  was  needed  and  asked  for 
a  loan.      He  let  me  have  the  money,  on  my  personal  note,  and  I  went 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  119 

ahead  and  made  a  success.  It  was  a  mighty  good  thing,  gentlemen,  that 
the  ore  was  their  in  paying  quantities  or  I  would  have  been  placed  in  a 
very  disagreeable  position."  These  mines  were  in  large  pockets  and  re- 
quired an  immense  amount  of  dead  work  to  find  them.  I  am  told  that 
one  of  these  "pockets"  contained  $2,000,000.00. 

The  impression  that  this  young  German  lad  made  on  the  old  financier 
proved  to  be  the  one  thing  needed  to  place  a  mine  on  a  paying  list,  that 
was  about  to  go  under  after  thousands  had  been  spent  on  its  development. 
When  Wash  Stapleton  got  Judge  Lawrence  A.  Brown  to  take  the  "New 
Departure"  off  his  hands,  he  was  very  well  pleased.  Being  at  the  New 
Departure  one  night,  the  judge  gave  me  a  story  in  the  following  words, 
as  near  as  I  can  remember:  "Say,  Noyes,  you're  not  an  expert  are  you?" 
"No,"  I  responded.  "All  right,  I  will  let  you  go  in  and  see  the  mine. 
I  wouldn't  allow  one  of  these  so-called  experts  to  look  over  the  outside, 
let  alone  inside.  I  have  had  one  hell  of  an  experience  with  this  mine  ever 
since  the  day  I  bargained  with  Wash  Stapleton  for  it.  I  have  gone  up 
against  many  tough  things  in  my  life.  Why!  I  never  had  a  shoe  on  my 
foot  until  I  was  1 9  or  20,  and  never  learned  to  read  until  then.  My 
early  day  experiences  in  Utah  and  Butte  were  nothing  compared  to  this. 
I  worked  as  hard  as  I  could,  and  did  not  seem  to  be  able  to  find  the 
pay  in  place.  You  could  find  rich  float  and  little  pockets  that  would 
soon  play  out.  One  day  I  had  a  call  to  go  to  Butte.  I  did  not  have  a 
horse  nor  money  to  pay  my  way.  All  I  had  was  five  dollars.  I  would 
need  that  for  incidental  expenses  in  the  city.  I  went  out  on  that  hill  there 
and  sat  down.  I  looked  over  at  old  Table  Mountain  and  said:  'Butte 
is  just  the  other  side  of  that;  I  know  where  it  is  all  right  and  I  guess 
I  will  have  to  foot  it  to  get  there.'  and  I  did.  I  walked  to  Butte  and 
w^alked  back  again.  I  struggled  around  on  this  old  mountain,  somewhat 
disappointed  at  times  I  must  admit,  but  always  hopeful.  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  go  down  and  see  Governor  White  and  try  and  borrow  a  little 
money.  I  explained  what  I  wanted  to  do  with  it  and  he  let  me  have  some. 
I  spent  this  money  without  succeeding  in  finding  anything,  and  went 
back  to  the  governor  and  said:  'Governor,  I  want  some  more  money.' 
'What  do  you  want  it  for?'  he  asked.  'I  want  it  to  try  and  find  the 
other  that  I  put  in,'  I  said,  and  he  gave  me  some  more.  With  this  loan 
Fred  and  I  found  a  good  body  of  ore,  a  carload  of  which  was  shipped 
to  the  smelter.  When  the  returns  came  I  went  again  to  see  the  governor. 
'Well,  Brown,  what  do  you  want  now,  some  more  money  to  hunt  up 
the  other  with?'  he  asked.  'No,  by  God!  I  came  to  pay  you  every 
cent  due  you  and  will  have  some  left,'  I  said.  Then  I  explained  to  him 
what  I  had  found.  I  have  generally  had  ore  in  sight  since  that  time,  and 
when  I  need  money  I  ship  a  car  load ;  this  is  my  bank,  and  I  believe,  sir, 
that  there  is  enough  in  here  to  pay  the  national  debt."  I  was  taken  into 
the  mine  and  was  shown  good  bodies  of  pay  ore  in  place.  He  would 
find  an  ore  chute  and  leave  it  to  find  another,  so  that  he  could  be  sure  he 
had  a  "deposit"  when  he  desired  to  check  against  it.     The  judge  was  sure 


120  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

that  he  had  a  great  mine.  After  he  died,  those  who  bought  it  of  Fred 
found  that  the  ore  was  in  bunches  and  kidneys,  and  the  new  Departure 
was  really  an  old  departure,  and  not  a  great  mine.  The  mine  kept  the 
judge  in  the  latter  days  of  his  life  and  give  Fred  plenty  for  an  economical 
person  to  live  on. 

Maybe  you  are  as  much  in  the  dark  as  ever  as  to  the  reason  why  we 
did  not  build  the  tram  in  the  first  place.  The  several  incidents  enumer- 
ated in  the  foregoing  pages  gives  some  of  the  history  of  mines  and 
mining  as  done  in  Montana.  There  was  not  one  man  mentioned  but  was 
governed  more  or  less  by  the  element  of  chance.  The  man  that  picked  up 
the  float  on  the  surface  in  Butte  could  quit  as  soon  as  it  was  all  gone,  and 
be  a  winner.  He  was  the  least  governed  by  chance  of  any  one  mentioned. 
Ore,  or  pay,  in  a  mine  is  certainly,  in  the  beginning,  an  unknown  quan- 
tity. A  man  does  not  see  the  thousands  needed  before  any  prospect  can 
be  made  into  a  mine.  We  have  been  too  apt  to  consider  the  mine  as  a 
hidden  treasure  that  once  found  would  work  for  your  good.  Why?  Be- 
cause of  so  many  that  have  been  found  that  did  prove  valuable  with  but 
little  outside  assistance.  Mining,  then,  is  conducted  along  the  same  lines 
that  is  used  by  the  lawyers  and  judges  in  all  they  do.  They  do  not 
depend  upon  new  things,  but  make  their  fights  and  render  their  decisions 
by  precedent.  If  the  lawyer  is  allowed,  v/ith  all  his  supposed  wisdom, 
to  go  ahead  along  such  lines,  why  should  the  prospector  or  miner  be 
cursed  for  a  fool  for  following,  with  just  as  much  reason  and  just  as 
many  good  examples,  precedent?  If  one  should  take  that  as  a  subject, 
he  could  write  until  dooms  day  and  then  not  have  it  exhausted.  The 
thing  that  we  knew  was,  that  the  Ajax  mine  had  been  found  on  the  main 
range  of  the  Rocky  mountains  at  an  altitude  of  over  9,000  feet,  and  we 
certainly  knew  that  there  would  always  be  enough  snow  for  sledding. 
We  did  not  think  but  what  it  might  be  possible  to  keep  the  roads  open  by 
the  usual  amount  of  work  required  for  hauling  ore.  We  knew  that  we  had 
a  nice  body  of  pay  rock  on  the  surface.  We  could  not  see  a  bit  further 
into  the  ground  (probably  owing  to  the  amount  of  snow)  than  many  of  the 
wise  ones  who  have  called  us  fools;  we  could,  however,  just  as  far.  All 
we  needed  with  that  class  of  ore  was  a  road  and  any  old  way  to  get  it 
down  to  the  level,  and  we  would  own  the  world.  And  if  that  body  of 
ore  had  behaved  itself,  hadn't  gotten  rattle  headed,  gone  on  a  toot  and 
busted  itself  up  and  got  lost  in  the  different  cracks  and  crannies  of  that 
old  mountain,  we  would  have  been  correct  in  our  calculations.  We,  like 
so  many  others,  simply  laid  a  foundation  without  taking  into  consideration 
what  the  structure  would  cost.  When  the  first  one  thousand  dollars  was 
spent  we  were  only  beginning  to  sink  money.  We  did  not  foresee,  we 
did  not  realize,  the  many  different  phases  that  would  ultimately  come  up 
in  working  mine  and  mill.  If  we  had  had  the  least  idea  that  things 
would  terminate  in  the  way  in  which  they  did  we  would  have  probably 
never  commenced.  It  was,  from  our  present  viewpoint,  an  exceedingly 
dangerous    gamble.      We   owed    money    in    all    of    our   enterprises.      The 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX'  121 

Ajax  and  Highland  ranches,  as  a  company,  and  Morse's  personal  en- 
deavors in  the  building  up  of  the  Ruby  sheep.  Mantle  and  other  en- 
terprises that  he  held  outside  of  the  Big  Hole.  We  both  felt  that  the 
Ajax  was  given  to  us  to  carry  us  over  the  financial  barriers  that  appeared 
in  our  way  through  the  building  up  of  these  big  plants  on  a  capital  originally 
too  small.  We  looked  forward  to  the  time  when,  because  of  it,  we  could 
become  more  substantial  factors  in  the  up-building  of  Beaverhead  county. 
So  it  was  a  matter  of  too  much  confidence  or  too  little  foresight  that  we 
began  operations.  If  we  had  known  that  the  ore  body  would  split, 
that  the  snow  would  surely  hinder  us  to  such  an  extent  that  it  would 
make  it  almost  impossible  to  carry  on  the  work,  we  would  not  have 
commenced.  It  was  an  expense  here,  a  little  there,  that  kept  adding  to 
the  amount  we  were  in,  each  dollar  spent  in  trying  to  save  those  already 
involved,  that  forced  us  along  as  relentlessly,  ruthlessly  and  mercilessly 
as  the  rudderless  ship  is  driven  before  the  wildest  typhoon.  We  couldn't 
stop.  Why?  Because  it  would  have  been,  at  that  particular  time,  to 
the  business  of  Beaverhead  county,  the  most  disastrous  thing  imaginable, 
the  failure  of  Justin  E.  Morse.  Men  looked  on  him,  as  he  was,  the 
embodiment  of  business  principles,  and  his  failure  at  that  time  to  have 
made  good,  would  have  intimidated  the  strongest  characters  we  had. 

We  can  not  account  for  the  many  peculiar  things  that,  as  incidents, 
go  to  round  out  the  life  of  the  average  man.  When  the  time  came  for  the 
second  (?)  cleanup  neither  Mr.  Morse  or  myself  was  present.  I  was  in 
the  valley,  though,  and  knew  before  I  saw  the  results  of  that  cleanup 
how  many  brick  were  in  it.  When  the  boys.  Uncle  Will,  Landers  and 
others,  came  down  to  Wisdom  from  the  mine  with  the  cleanup.  Uncle 
showed  me  a  small  brick  about  the  size  of  the  first  one,  and  said: 
"Here  is  your  gold,  Noyes."  I  said:  "That  won't  do,  come  through 
with  the  other  four.  Uncle  Will,  as  I  know  what  you  have  as  well  as  you 
do."  "You  are  mistaken,  my  boy,  that  is  all  we  got,"  he  said,  as  he 
pointed  to  the  small  ingot  I  held  in  my  hand.  My  aunt  spoke  up  and 
said:  "Why  don't  you  show  him  the  others,  what  do  you  want  to  keep- 
fooling  for?"  He  turned  to  her  and  said:  "You  have  seen  him  and 
told  him,  Lizzie."  "No,"  she  replied,  "I  have  not  seen  him  before  this 
evening."  He  had  the  bricks  in  a  flour  sack  and  emptied  them  on  the 
floor,  four  of  them.  You  can  call  me  anything  you  wish.  I  saw  those 
pieces  of  gold  the  night  before  and  carried  on  that  same  conversation,  in 
my  dreams.  The  boys  had  made  good;  they  had  taken  out  in  fourteen 
days  $1,960.00,  instead  of  $341  in  23  days.  The  little  old  town  of 
Wisdom  that  night  was  painted  in  the  most  vivid  crimson  it  ever  saw. 
The  painting  of  any  town  in  that  way  may  be  folly,  but  there  is  more 
folly   than   wisdom   in   this   world. 

We,  my  uncle  and  I,  went  to  Dillon  and  turned  those  glittering 
pieces  of  gold  on  the  carpet  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morse's  feet.  Did  you  ever 
see  the  most  attractive,  most  absorbingly  interesting  thing  in  the  world,  gold 
ingots,    without    feeling   some    interest    in    them,    whether   you    owned    any 


122  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

thing  in  them  or  not?  It  is  safe  to  say  that  you  never  did.  Those  little 
bricks  were  shown  to  many  in  the  little  city  of  Dillon  before  they  were 
sent  to  Boise  City.  We  did  not  feel  quite  as  hopeless  now  and  looked 
forward  to  many  returns  of  the  same  kind.  The  mill  was  started  again 
and  seventeen  days  returned  $2,300.  Surely  the  Ajax  was  all  right,  and 
we  had  not  spent  our  money  in  vain.  We  made  another  run  that  gave 
us  two  bricks  that  weighed  ten  pounds.  We  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  we  had  better  enlarge  the  capacity  of  the  mill  and  put  through  at  least 
35  tons  per  day,  in  order  to  pull  out  of  the  heavy  indebtedness.  We  had 
tried  to  sell,  but  always  at  the  same  old  price.  In  the  fall  of  1  902  James 
Neill,  a  very  prominent  mining  engineer  from  Utah,  afterward  with  Heinze, 
came  to  look  over  the  Ajax  for  a  Salt  Lake  man.  We  did  not  know  that 
he  was  coming.  I  happened  to  be  at  the  mine,  with  George  Metlen, 
surveying  for  patent,  when  he  arrived.  This  was  about  supper  time,  as 
I  recall  now.  He  handed  me  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Morse 
and  told  me  what  he  had  come  for,  and  who  he  represented.  I  said: 
"Mr.  Neill,  I  am  sorry  that  you  came.  We  have  nothing  to  show  a 
mining  man,  at  this  time,  and  I  think  you  have  made  your  trip  uselessly." 
"We  hear  that  you  people  have  a  splendid  prospect,  Mr.  Noyes,"  he 
replied,  "and  it  is  impossible  to  keep  these  things  hidden  from  the  mining 
world,  especially  after  good  returns  from  ore  that  has  been  shipped.  As 
I  came  to  make  an  examination  of  your  claims,  I  will  do  so  with  your 
permission."  You  must  remember  that  this  was  before  the  mill  was  built 
and  at  a  time^  when  we  had  found  that  the  large  body  of  lead  ore  had 
become  lost,  by  splitting  or  playing  out.  The  sun  never  rose  on  a  more 
beautiful  day  in  the  fall  of  the  year  than  it  did  the  next  morning  after 
Weill's  advent.  There  was  not  one  thing  to  mar  its  glory.  Before  going 
into  the  tunnel  we  took  in  all  the  surface,  from  bottom  to  apex  of  the  moun- 
tain. As  we  stood  on  that  mountain  top,  almost  1 0,000  feet  high,  we 
cold  see,  in  the  distance,  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  Blacktail,  Old 
Baldy  and  all  her  kindred  back  to  Lion.  We  could  see  the  mountain 
range  from  Mt.  Haggin,  near  Anaconda,  to  the  grand  old  dome  of  Mt. 
Garfield,  locally  called  "Saddler  Peak,"  off  to  the  west  was  the  Salmon 
river  country,  with  the  Saw  Tooth  range  miles  away  in  the  blue  distance, 
while  just  at  hand,  not  more  than  five  miles  away,  is  a  mountain  named 
for  me,  Mt.  Noyes,  a  grand  old  peak  that  arises  about  1  1 ,000  feet  between 
Lake  and  Swamp  creeks,  while  at  our  feet  were  revealed  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  lakelets  that  have  ever  lent  their  charms  to  magnify  the 
glories  of  God's  universe.  With  the  valley  of  the  Big  Hole  at  our  feet, 
to  the  east,  and  the  Jordan-like  valley  of  the  Salmon  on  the  west;  with 
the  hundreds  of  noble  mountains,  placid  lakes  and  rippling  streams  open 
to  our  gaze,  we  felt  the  reverence  due  the  Creator,  and  acknowledged  it 
as  we  stood  with  uncovered  heads  in  the  midst  of  His  handiwork.  I 
had  not  been  a  traveler;  I  had  seen  some  of  the  beauties  of  my  state,  that 
was  about  all.  Neill  had  been  educated  in  Europe,  and  had  stood 
among  the  grand  sights  of  Switzerland  and  Tyrol.      But,   as  he  gazed 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX  '  123 

at  the  picture  we  were  looking  at,  he  said:  "Noyes,  I  have  seen  the 
Alps  and  all  her  glories,  but  here  is  a  picture  she  can  not  beat,  a  man  is  a 
fool  to  go  to  Europe  for  scenerj'  when  he  has  so  much  here  at  home  that 
is  just  as  good."  Afte;  looking  at  the  wonderful  sight  just  depicted,  we 
went  to  the  tunnels  and  took  samples.  After  we  came  back  to  the  surface 
I  said:  "I  told  you  that  we  did  not  have  anything  to  show  you,  Mr. 
Neill."  He  looked  at  me  a  moment  and  replied.  "By  God,  you  have! 
You  have  got  a  wonderful  prospect  here.  Look  at  this,"  picking  up  a 
piece  of  rock  from  the  dump,  "this  is  what  made  Butte  famous."  I  did 
not  know  the  piece  of  ore  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  told  him  so.  He 
told  me  that  it  was  copper  glacier,  and  that  he  would  have  that  piece 
assayed.  (He  sent  me  word  that  it  run  37  per  cent  copper,  besides  gold 
and  silver).  After  he  had  taken  all  the  samples  he  wished,  I  asked  him 
if  he  would  express  an  opinion.  "You  have,  as  I  have  said,  a  splendid 
prospect  that  will,  in  my  opinion,  turn  into  a  gold-copper  property  with 
depth,"  he  said.  That  afternoon  I  took  Mr.  Neill  to  the  ranch  and 
the  next  day  into  Dillon.     I  found  him  a  most  agreeable  gentleman. 

As   White  had   become  a   little  insistent   as   to   liquidation   of  Ajax 
ranch  indebtedness,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  sell  our  stock  cattle.     We  found 
a  buyer  in  Senator  B.  D.  Phillips  of  Valley  county,  who  gave  us  $29  per 
head,  calves  thrown  in.     Before  selling  to  Phillips,  I  had  cut  out  the  fine 
White  Face  stuff  and  put  them  in  a  pasture  above  the  house,  as  I  could 
not  see  my  way  clear  to  let  them   go   at  stock  cattle  prices.      After   he 
bought  the  stuff,  he  made  a  contract  with  me  for  as  many  yearling  steers 
as   I   could   buy   and    feed   through   the  winter,   to  be   delivered   the   next 
spring  at   Big  Sandy  at  $30  per  head.      I  turned  the  cattle  out  of  our 
pasture  the  day  I  sold  them  and  gave  Fred   Frances  charge  of  the  herd 
to  deliver  at  the  railroad  near  Anaconda,  where  I  was  to  meet  him  and 
count  out.     This  was  at  a  time  when  the  smelter  smoke  was  doing  much 
damage  to  the  stock  in  Deer  Lodge  valley.      My  stuff  was  held  on  the 
milk  ranch  four  or  five  miles  out  over  night  and  by  the  next  morning  they 
were   showing   effects   of    the   poison.      When   we   counted   out,    Ben    got 
the  best  of  me  several   hundred   dollars  on   calves,   as   he  would   claim  a 
small  yearling  was  a  calf,   when  he   knew  a  whole  lot  better.      He  had 
two  of  his  friends  there  who  were  not  backward  in  expressing  their  opinion, 
in  his  favor,  when  called  on  to  decide.     D.  D.  Walker  was  with  me,  but 
he  did  not  feel  like  expressmg  an  opmion  m  the  matter,  but  said  afterward 
that  he  believed  Phillips  out-counted  to  the  tune  of  $700  to  $800.     These 
cattle    would    always   be   in    the   car   when    the   controversy   was   on,    and 
it    would    have    needed    the    unloading    of    nearly    every   car   to    make    an 
examination.      You  may  say  that  I  was   foolish  to  allow  anything  of  the 
kind  to  go.      In  a  way,  yes,  in  the  way  that  I  looked  at  it,  no.      I  was 
to  deliver  at  the   railroad.      I   run   into   the  poison   at  Anaconda  and  was 
afraid  to  have  the  cattle  turned  hack  for  three  reasons   :    I  did  not  know 
what  effect   the  poison  would   have;    I    knew  that  a   drive   to  the   railroad 
and  back  would  injure  my  cattle  quite  a  lot  at  that  season  of  the  year;  and 


124  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

we  had  already  bought  yearling  steers  for  more  than  all  the  hay  we  had, 
and  another  thing,  stock  cattle  were  on  the  decline. 

Ben  Phillips  had  been  raised  in  Deer  Lodge  valley,  and  as  a  young 
fellow  had  herded  his  father's  cattle  in  the  Big  Hole  in  the  summer  time. 
He  and  other  young  fellows  found  placer  mines  on  Miner  creek  which 
they  attempted  to  work,  without  results.  He  had  developed  into  a  pretty 
fast  foot  racer  and  would  put  up  any  kind  of  a  race  you  wanted,  straight 
or  fake,  according  to  the  one  that  would  show  the  most  money.  He 
and  Crandle  beat  Jim  Murray  out  of  a  good  many  thousands  in  Butte 
in  a  put-up  job.  Ben  was  full  of  little  tricks  to  beat  people,  even  after 
he  became  the  largest  sheepman  and  mining  king  in  northern  Montana. 
He  would  work  any  little  scheme  in  his  leisure  hours  to  beat  one  of  his 
sheep  herders  out  of  $10 — just  for  fun.  He  would  take  a  cold  chisel  and 
go  to  a  rock  some  distance  from  camp,  knock  off  a  piece  and  then  bet  a 
herder  he  could  take  his  rifle  and  plug  that  rock.  The  fact  was,  it  was 
almost  impossible.  They  would  put  up  the  money,  and  Ben  would  say: 
"I  am  going  to  leave  it  to  your  honor.  I  wouldn't  walk  over  to  that  rock 
for  ten  dollars.  I  will  shoot  and  you  go  over  and  see  if  I  hit  it.  If 
there  is  a  place  that  shows  the  rock  has  been  freshly  chipped  off,  I  win; 
if  not,  I  lose.  It's  all  up  to  you,  I  will  take  your  word."  In  the  light 
of  the  foregoing,  one  can  see  the  sure  disappointment  of  Mr.  Sheepherder 
as  he  found  the  "nick"  in  the  rock.  He  would  come  back  and  report 
that  Ben  had  hit  all  right,  and  hand  over  his  ten,  which  Ben  would  keep. 
Ben  was  a  splendid  shot  with  the  .22,  and  hardly  ever  made  a  miss.  A 
young  fellow  had  worked  for  him  until  he  had  one  hundred  dollars, 
which  was  paid  by  check.  Ben,  thinking  he  could  get  the  pile,  said: 
"Say,  what  do  you  want  of  that  hundred  dollars?"  Why,  Mr.  Phillips, 
I  need  it;  I  have  worked  and  earned  it,  haven't  I?"  "Oh,  yes,  that's 
all  right,"  said  Ben,  "but  that  isn't  much  good  to  you.  How  would  you 
like  to  have  $200  or  nothing?"  I  don't  understand  what  you  mean," 
the  young  man  said.  "Well,"  said  Ben,  "I  will  give  you  three  eggs; 
you  toss  one  at  a  time  and  if  I  don't  hit  every  one  you  get  $200,  if  I  do  I 
take  your  $100."  The  boy  thought  a  moment  and  accepted.  He  said: 
"You  write  out  another  check,  and  call  Mrs.  Phillips  to  hold  the  stakes,  and 
I'll  go  you."  This  was  done  and  the  fun  commenced.  Up  went  an 
egg,  bang  went  the  gun  and  Mr.  Egg  was  surely  hit.  The  second 
one  same  result.  The  young  fellow  was  surely  up  against  a  brace  game, 
because  Ben  was  never  known  to  miss  anything  the  size  of  an  egg  at  that 
distance.  Mrs.  Phillips  was  standing  in  the  door  watching  the  fun(?). 
The  young  man  knew  that  if  he  threw  that  egg  into  the  air  he  would  lose 
his  dough,  so  he  threw  it  at  Mrs.  Phillips.  Ben  looked  at  him,  walked 
over  and  took  the  two  checks  from  Mrs.  Phillips  and  said:  "Kid,  you 
have  won  the  bet;  you  are  surely  all  right."  So  you  see  what  a  fellow 
was  up  against  if  he  left  anything  to  the  nice  sense  of  honor  the  Senator 
kept  in  his  possession. 


THE  STORY  OF    'AJAX"  125 

After  the  stock  were  loaded,  D.  D.  Walker  asked  me  if  I  would  go 
and  look  over  Walter  Staton's  cattle.      Staton  was  to  ship  his  stuff  out 
of  the  county   into   the  northern  part  of  the  state,   in  order  to  save   their 
lives.      Walker  said:      "^  ou   are   in  no  way   connected   with   the  people 
of  the  valley,  nor  with  the  Anaconda  Mining  company.      People  here  do 
not  want  to  mix  up  in  this  matter  and   some  disinterested  person  should 
go   and  look  at  Walter's  cattle  and   horses  and  find  out  what  condition 
they  are  in."      I  agreed  to  this  and  went  with  Walter  to  his   ranch.      I 
never    saw    such    a    helpless    lot    of    stock.       They    were    living    skeletons. 
Their  hides  were  tightly  drawn  over   their  bones,   girt   around   flanks   al- 
most nothing;  eyes  dim  and  lusterless,  with  nostrils  almost  closed  with  a 
scabby  substance.      Walter  said:      "A!,  make  me  an  offer  on  this  stuff," 
**I  would  not  give  you  a  bad  dollar  for  the  whole  bunch,"  I  replied.     You 
can  talk  about  it  all  you  wish;  the  judge  can  render  a  decision  that  those 
people   did   not   suffer   through   the   poisonous    fumes    from   the   Anaconda 
smelter,     but     I,     a    disinterested     party,     know    better.        The     ranchers 
m.ay  not  have  gone  about  the  matter  in  the  wisest  way  to  get  relief,  but 
that  makes  no  difference,  so  far  as  the  fact  of  their  injury  is  concerned. 
It  was  after  the  delivery  of  these  cattle  to  Phillips,  and  the  purchase 
of  steers  for  the  spring  delivery,  that  Jim  Neill  was  at  the  mine.     Owing 
to   the   fact   that   the   day   he  was   there  was   very  warm   in   the   sun   and 
cool  in  the  mines  I  caught  a  severe  cold  that  resulted  in  pneumonia,  which 
kept  me  pretty  close  to  the  house  for  the  winter.      We  delivered    1 ,800 
head  of  steers  to  Phillips,  Larson  Cattle  Co.,  at  Harlem,  the  next  spring 
and  received  a  check  for   fifty-four  thousand  dollars.      We  made  a   fair 
feed  bill.      By  this  time  we  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  get  some  outside 
money  for  the  mine,  as  we  wished  to  enlarge  the  mill.     The  mine  was  in- 
corporated, with  such  men  behind  it  as  Governor  B.   F.   White,  Senator 
Lee  Mantle  and  Edwin   L.   Norris.      We  offered  the  shares  at  50  cents 
each  and  but  few  were  taken  in  Beaverhead  county.     Morse  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  Col.   L.  J.   Price  and   I  could  go  east  and  float  some  of 
this  stuff,  anyway  enough  to  enlarge  the  mill,  and  pay  a  few  of  the  inci- 
dental  expenses.      Price  was   approached  on   the  subject   and  did   at   last 
agree   to   go.      Money   was   none   to   plentyful    for   this   undertaking,   so   I 
sold  some  stock  Mrs.  Noyes  held  in  a   Building  and  Loan  association  of 
Salt  Lake  to  Fred  Waldorf,  5,000  shares  of  Ajax  to  Louis  Stone  for  a 
nominal  sum,  and  with  some  more  money  that  I  had  raised  in  other  ways, 
the  colonel   and   I  made  our  start   for  the  express  purpose  of  getting  the 
Yankees  to  separate  themselves  from  some  of  their  dollars.      We  carried 
the  two  bricks  last  taken  from  tht  mill,  as  an  example  of  what  the  Ajax 
would   be   doing  every   three   or   four   days   when    the   mill   was  enlarged. 
We  went  to  Minneapolis,  where  I  supposed  I  might  be  able  to  get  a  few 
people  to  gamble.      We  were  not  successful   and   came   to   the   conclusion 
to  go  to  Boston,     As  there  happened  to  be  a  Christian  Science  excursion 
on,   we  took  advantage  of   the   low   rates  and  struck  out   for  the  land  of 
the  codfish  balls  and,  as  the  colonel  said,   "In-bred  people."      The  train 


120  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

stopped  at  way  stations  for  something  to  eat  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  the 
dainty  (?)  form  of  the  colonel  I  would  have  surely  gone  hungry.  He, 
however,  overrode  and  trod  down  all  obstacles  and  managed  to  get  back, 
to  the  car  with  something.  It  was  night  when  we  arrived  at  the  Youngs 
hotel  and  secured  a  room.  After  we  had  dinner  we  met  in  the  lobby 
two  gentlemen,  one  of  whom,  a  big  cotton  mill  owner  of  Lawrence,  Mass., 
the  other  a  gentleman  from  Maine.  These  gentlemen  had  several  high- 
balls in  the  recepticle  made  or  used  for  harboring  all  kinds  of  slush. 
"Bobby,"  the  gentleman  from  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  was  particu- 
larly well  soused.  The  gentleman  from  Maine  was,  as  he  told  us  in 
the  conversation  later,  a  "reformed  drunkard."  This  evening  he  had 
forgotten  the  fact  and  was  trying  to  get  more  than  "half  seas  over."  It 
did  not  take  us  long  to  get  acquainted,  to  exchange  the  little  information 
needed  to  let  one  another  know  where  the  other  was  from  and  the  busi- 
ness in  which  he  was  engaged.  It  is  strange  how  little  the  Eastern  man 
really  knows  of  the  great  extent  of  the  United  States,  and  the  continent 
of  North  America.  When  the  man  from  Maine  (I  shall  not  tell  his 
name,  but  I  found  him  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  his  word)  found  out 
that  we  were  from  the  west  and  mining  men,  he  asked  us  if  we  had  ever 
heard  of  a  certain  mine  located  some  place  in  the  wilds  of  British  North 
America.  We  had  not.  The  mine  could  and  might  be  located  there 
and  no  Montana  man  know  it.  We  explained  this  to  the  gentleman  and 
asked  why.  "Well,  I  have  some  shares  in  it  and  am  thinking  of  getting 
some  more,"  he  said.     Then  he  told  us  the  following  story: 

"There  is  a  widow  lady  living  in  our  town  who  is  quite  well  known. 
She  gave  a  very  nice  dinner  to  several  of  the  prominent  business  men  of 
the  place,  and  there  we  met  a  gentleman  who  was  interested  in  some  mines 
in  the  Northwest.  During  the  course  of  the  meal  she  explaind  that  the 
gentleman  had  kindly  let  her  in  for  a  few  shares,  at  a  reasonable  price,  and 
she  felt  that  he  had  favored  her  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  gentle- 
man himself  had  not  mentioned  mines,  nor  did  he  enter  into  the  conversa- 
tion until  approached  by  some  of  the  men  who  were  becoming  interested  in 
the  lady's  description  of  the  property.  We  came  to  the  conclusion  that  no 
man  would  be  mean  enough  to  sell  mining  stock  to  a  widow  woman  with 
whom  he  was  boarding,  unless  he  believed  he  had  a  good  claim,  some- 
thing that  would  justify  the  expenditure  of  money.  So  I  bought  quite  a 
block  of  the  shares  and  have  an  option  on  some  more  which  I  am  think- 
ing of  taking,  so  that  is  my  reason  for  having  asked  if  you  had  ever  heard 
of  such  a  mine."  "Bobby"  left  us  at  10  p.  m.,  and  said  he  was 
going  to  Lawrence  and  I  guess  he  made  it  all  right,  as  we  met  him  quite 
often  after,  at  the  Youngs,  generally  in  a  state  of  "how  come  you  so." 

The  gentleman  from  Maine  invited  us  to  his  room,  from  which  place 
he  ordered  a  bottle  of  Scotch  and  a  box  of  cigars.  He  was  only  a  little 
under  the  weather  but  understood  what  he  was  talking  about.  He  told 
us  that  he  could  not  be  interested  in  our  mine;  that  he  had  other  and 
particular  troubles  at  that  time  of  his  own,  as  the  men  were  on  a  strike 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX  •  127 

in  his  factory'.  In  fact,  it  was  owing  to  this  trouble  that  he  had  taken  a 
Httle  whisky,  for  which  he  was  sorry.  When  Colonel  Price  and  I  started 
for  the  east  we  had  as  good  letters  of  introduction  as  could  be  gotten  in 
Montana.  Governor  Toole,  Governor  Rickards,  Governor  B.  F.  White, 
Senator  Lee  Mantle,  Senator  Thos.  H.  Carter,  Senator  Wilber  F.  Sanders, 
(it  was  the  day  that  we  got  the  letter  from  Sanders  that  he  told  me  he 
was  writing  a  book  that  would  not  be  published  until  after  his  death. 
Every  Montanan  would  like  to  see  this  come  to  light)  Jno.  F.  Forbis,  D. 
J.  Hennessy,  Jno.  Gillie,  A.  L.  Stone  and  others;  certainly  as  good  a 
bunch  as  could  be  had.  We  went  there  with  as  much  faith  as  to  the  future 
of  the  Ajax  being  good  as  could  be  contained  in  the  soul  of  man.  We 
showed  the  gentleman  our  letters  and  told  him  that,  while  he  might  not  feel 
like  buying  any  shares,  he  could  probably  tell  people  that  we  were  not 
fakirs,  and  were  worthy  of  consideration.  After  he  had  looked  over  these 
letters,  he  said:  "You  have  certainly  come  well  recommended."  It  must 
have  been  midnight  when  Price  asked  me  to  get  the  gold  brick.  I  went 
into  the  hall  and  found  a  man,  whom  I  afterwards  learned  was  the  porter, 
standing  there.  He  had  evidently  been  sent  or  had  gone  to  find  out  how 
the  gentleman  from  Maine  was  getting  on  with  the  two  strangers  that 
had  registered  from  Montana.  When  I  got  to  the  office,  I  found  out 
that  the  vault  was  closed  with  a  "time-lock,"  and  my  "brick"  could  not 
be  had  until  the  next  morning.  I  went  back  and  made  my  report  to  that 
effect.  The  gentleman  said:  "I  am  going  to  buy  1,000  shares  in  your 
mine."  I  explained  that  we  could  not  deliver  them  at  that  time,  as  the 
stock  book  had  not  arrived  from  Montana,  Governor  White,  the  president 
of  the  company,  was  not  at  home  when  we  left  and  the  stock  was  unsigned. 

We  went  to  our  room  and  discussed  the  matter.  Price  said:  "We 
should  have  been  in  shape  to  deliver  the  shares  and  get  that  man's  check, 
while  he  was  ripe  for  the  transaction.  We'll  not  be  likely  to  get  it 
now."  As  this  was  our  first  night  in  the  city,  we  felt  encouraged  as  to 
future  results  and  felt  that  we  had  come  to  the  right  place  to  make  good. 
The  next  morning  the  gentleman  came  down,  as  fresh  as  a  daisy.  He 
asked  us  if  we  were  acquainted  in  the  city,  if  not,  he  had  an  hour  that 
he  would  gladly  give  to  show  us  the  Boston  Common,  State  House,  etc., 
before  his  train  left  for  Philadelphia.  We  accepted  and  were  shown  many 
of  the  interesting  points  in  the  history  of  the  city  and  country. 

Price  had  mined  in  Colorado  and  was  quite  well  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  men  in  that  state,  as  he  seldom  forgot  either  name  or 
face.  It  was  but  a  short  time  before  several  of  them  appeared  at  Young's 
and  were  spotted  by  the  colonel.  Among  them  was  Charlie  Taylor,  once  the 
president  of  the  Denver  Mining  Exchange,  and  a  man  who  had  made 
and  lost  fortunes  at  the  game.  "Charlie"  was  trying  to  do  all  he 
could  to  get  another  start.  He  was  actually  down  and  out.  He  got 
acquainted  with  me,  through  Price,  and  asked  for  a  small  loan  for  a 
short  time.  I  gave  him  what  he  required  at  that  particular  time,  and 
then  he  came  for  some  more,  which  I  gladly  let  him  have.      Price  learned 


128  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

of  this  and  said  :  "You're  easy,  you  will  never  get  that  money  back." 
I  replied  that  "the  gentleman  was  an  old  friend  of  his,  and  up  against  it, 
and  I  did  not  care,  as  the  amount  was  not  large  any  way."  The  next 
I  learned  of  Taylor  was  through  the  means  of  a  mining  journal.  It  seems 
he  had  gone  to  New  York,  was  taken  sick  and  died  in  a  hospital  the 
same  day  that  they  found  a  "million  dollar  chute"  in  his  gold  mine.  This 
man  had  been  able  to  raise  large  sums  of  money  in  mining  schemes  when- 
ever needed,  prior  to  this  time.  No  doubt  the  disappointment  at  being 
unable  to  raise  the  funds  needed,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  broke  had  a 
tendency  to  break  his  nerve  so  that  he  could  not  recover  when  taken  sick. 
I  am  glad  that  I  did  not  refuse  him  aid. 

Young's  hotel  is  a  place  where  many  of  the  business  men  of  the 
city  hang  out.  It  is,  or  was,  a  great  place  for  the  old  gentlemen  who  had 
plenty  of  money  and  not  much  to  do  to  congregate  on  an  afternoon  and 
sample  the  different  grades  of  liquor  that  can  be  found  at  either  of  the  two 
bars  belonging  to  the  premises.  Price  had  a  way  with  him  that  was  taking 
with  these  old  gentlemen.  He  was  jolly  as  could  be  and  a  splendid  story 
teller.  They  would  come  around  with  their  carriages  and  take  him  out  for 
a  drive  and  show  him  all  the  sights  worth  seeing.  One  of  them  whose 
great  steamships  plowed  the  proud  Atlantic  from  Boston  to  the  land  of 
limburger,  offered  him  a  free  passage  any  time  he  desired  to  make  this 
trip.  To  a  man  like  Price,  who  was  never  known  to  "take  water,"  such 
an  offer  was  superfluous.  Anyway,  he  never  had  time  that  he  could 
spare  so  that  he  could  take  advantage  of  the  offer.  As  mentioned,  L.  J. 
was  a  noticeable  figure.  One  evening  he  was  setting  in  the  hotel  lobby. 
The  summer  heat  producing  that  bodily  discomfort  known  as  sweat  or 
perspiration,  wilting  his  collars  and  saturating  his  handkerchiefs,  when  a 
gentleman  walked  up  to  him  and  said:  "Say,  you  ought  to  get  a  light 
suit  of  clothes  and  put  them  on.  You  are  in  misery."  "Who  in  the 
blankety  blank  are  you?"   Price   asked.      The  gentleman  was   a  big,   fat 

fellow  himself  and  good  natured.     He  replied  that  his  name  was  

and  a  conversation  took  place  which  made  these  gentlemen  on  intimate  terms 
for  the  time  being.  The  colonel  was  invited  to  a  stylish  club  and  en- 
joyed himself  until  about  midnight,  when  he  came  up  with  the  "news" 
that  he  had  certainly  run  onto  the  right  fellow  this  time,  as  the  party 
was  one  of  the  big  lumber  men  of  the  east,  with  millions  at  his  com- 
mand. I  never  saw  the  colonel  more  elated  than  on  this  occasion.  When 
we  were  in  the  lobby  the  next  morning,  I  asked  him  to  point  the  gentle- 
man out  to  me,  as  he  had  told  Price  that  he  was  engaged  in  mining  in 
Arizona  and  had  even  made  a  proposition  to  him  to  go  and  look  over 
the  claim  and  if  he  reported  favorably,  he  would  buy  more  stock.  Of 
course.  Price  told  him  he  could  not  go  at  that  time.  It  was  because 
of  this  interest  the  gentleman  had  in  Arizona  that  I  thought  the  colonel 
was  really  "on."  We  did  not  get  to  see  the  gentleman  for  two  or  three 
days,  but  at  last  the  long-looked  for  event  arrived,  when  the  colonel  nudged 
em  and  said:      "There  he  is."     I  looked  the  man  over  and  said:      "You 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  129 

\viJl  never  be  able  to  get  a  cent  out  of  that  man  for  shares  in  our  mine." 

"You  talk  like  a  d n  fool;  how  do  you  know?"     "All  right,  Lou," 

I  replied,  "j^ou  go  to  him  and  tell  him  what  your  business  is  at  this  time 
and  he  will  probably  never  notice  you  again."  Several  days  afterward 
the  colonel  did  call  the  lumber  man's  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  had 
something  special  to  offer  in  the  shares  in  the  "Montana  Ajax"  at  fifty 
cents  each,  to  which  he  replied:  "That  he  had  no  money  at  that  time, 
to  invest  in  mines."  That  conversation  snapped  the  cord  of  friendship, 
tore  asunder  the  ligaments  that  had  held  these  "Siamese  Twins"  for  a 
week  together,  and  caused  "cold  drops"  of  moisture  to  perambulate  down 
the  colonel's  backbone. 

There  was  much  to  see  in  the  city  of  Boston  to  keep  one  interested. 
Both  of  us  were  filled  with  the  sentiment  that  binds  the  past  to  the  now, 
and  took  pleasure  in  looking  over  the  points  of  historical  prominence. 
Price  had  cousins  in  several  of  the  little  towns  that  are  near  the  city.  He 
would  go  and  make  them  a  visit  and  leave  me  to  enjoy  myself  as  best  I 
could.  I  walked  into  the  First  National  Bank  one  day  and  met  the 
president,  Mr.  Dan  Wing,  whom  I  had  seen  in  Dillon  several  years 
before.  I  asked  him  when  he  had  heard  from  his  uncle.  Bob.  "Why, 
Mr.  Noyes,  he  is  down  at  Sandwich  now,  attending  a  reunion  of  the  Wing 
family  of  America,  and  I  know  he  would  be  pleased  to  see  you,"  he  re- 
plied. I  made  hurried  preparations  and  caught  the  train  for  Sandwich, 
a  little  town  down  near  Cap  Cod.  When  the  train  arrived  Bob  was 
there  to  meet  a  cousin(?).  I  jumped  off  the  train  and  the  old  fellow 
saw  me  and  was  mighty  well  pleased.  "Hell,  Ajax!  What  are  you 
doing  down  here?"  he  asked.  "I  just  came  down  to  see  you,  Bob," 
I  replied,  and  then  explained  how  I  got  my  information.  Bob's  cousin 
did  not  come;  as  we  started  up  the  street,  he  said:  "Say,  Ajax,  a 
fellow  can't  get  a  drink  of  whisky  in  this  old  town  to  save  his  life.  You 
never  saw  anything  like  it."  I  attended  the  "Wing"  meet,  and  enjoyed 
the  evening  very  much,  listening  to  the  papers,  speeches  and  music.  I 
returned  to  Boston  the  next  day  to  find  that  the  colonel  had  returned 
from  some  place  to  which  he  had  gone  to  see  some  of  his  "cousins."  The 
gentleman,  mentioned  in  a  preceding  page,  that  we  had  met  the  first 
night,  who  had  said  he  would  buy  1 ,000  shares,  came  several  times  to 
Boston,  on  his  way  to  New  York  or  Philadelphia.  He  made  Young's 
his  home  when  in  the  city  and  always  met  us.  One  day  he  said:  "When 
are  you  able  to  deliver  the  shares  I  agreed  to  take?  I  want  you  to  know 
that  I  meant  just  what  I  said  and  knew  what  I  was  talking  about  when  I 
promised  to  buy  them  the  first  night  I  met  you.  As  you  have  not  men- 
tioned the  matter  since,  I  thought  I  would  speak  about  it."  I  told  him 
that  I  could  turn  them  over  any  time.  He  went  to  our  room  and  talked 
the  matter  over  at  some  length  with  me  and  gave  me  his  check  for  five 
hundred  dollars.  This  was  the  first  and  only  money  we  received  in  that 
section  of  the  country.  It  was  impossible  to  get  people  interested  in  Mon- 
tana  mines,   or,   in   fact,   any   mine.       I  he  Amalgamated  had   dropped   to 


130  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

$35.00  per  share  and  other  "coppers"  were  held  as  of  little  value.  Several 
of  the  gentlemen  whom  we  met  at  Young's  were  men  of  money.  They 
owned  quite  a  block  of  Butte  stocks  and  felt  that  they  were  getting  the 
worst  of  the  deal.  I  do  not  know  what  they  paid  for  them,  but  over 
$100  per  share.  I  was  asked  by  them  what  1  considered  the  reason  to 
be  that  these  stocks  were  so  low.  They  wanted  to  know  whether  I  thought 
the  mines  were  actually  "playing  out"  or  not.  My  reply  was  that  the 
matter  was  simply  one  of  manipulation;  that  the  mines  were  O.  K.  and 
that  if  they  held  they  would  certainly  see  this  stuff  go  back  up  the 
scale.  Only  a  year  or  two  after  my  surmise  was  proved  right,  because 
this  same  $35.00  stock  went  to  $1  19.  We  worked  as  hard  as  we  could 
to  get  people  to  take  hold.  Visiting  many  of  the  smaller  places,  among 
others  Worcester,  where  we  put  in  a  week.  Our  reason  for  going  to  Wor- 
cester was  because  of  the  fact  that  a  Mr.  Perky,  the  man  who  manu- 
factured the  "Shredded  Wheat  Biscuit,"  lived  there  and  Colonel  Price, 
as  a  boy,  had  studied  in  his  law  office.  Perky's  old  law  partner  was 
also  there,  acting  as  the  attorney  for  the  company.  Price  knew  these 
men  and  expected  some  prestige  from  that  fact.  We  met  the  gentlemen 
but  received  no  encouragement  from  them  in  a  financial  way.  We  met 
a  newspaper  man  and  got  a  nice  write  up.  No  good.  TTiis  young 
fellow  was  a  western  man  and  had  heard  some  of  the  stories  connected 
with  "wild  cat"  schemes.  He  told  us  a  little  story  which  will  give  one  an 
idea  of  how  one  man  worked  a  mining  (?)  deal : 

Two  young  men  met  at  a  small  hotel  in  some  little  place  in  Iowa. 
For  some  reason  they  made  the  place  headquarters  for  a  month  or  more. 
One  day  one  asked  the  other  if  he  had  any  money,  saying:  "If  you  have, 
I  know  how  we  can  make  a  stake.  I  have  several  hundred  saved  up  and 
we  can  go  out  to  Colorado,  get  hold  of  a  prospect  of  some  kind,  incor- 
porate a  company  and  sell  mining  shares  to  the  'Rubes'."  The  young 
fellow  addressed  replied  that  he  had  a  little  money,  but  did  not  care  to 
risk  it  in  any  such  way.  A  year  or  two  afterward,  this  man  happened  to 
return  to  the  same  little  hotel.  The  same  clerk  was  yet  on  duty.  The 
young  man  asked  the  clerk  if  he  had  ever  heard  of  the  "mining  promotor" 
since  he  left.  "Why,  sure  I  have,"  he  said.  "That  fellow  has  plenty 
to  live  on  and  is  having  a  good  time.  He  went  to  Colorado,  got  hold  of 
a  prospect  and  then  went  into  some  college  town  in  Illinois.  The  first 
thing  he  did  was  to  use  part  of  his  money  in  buying  a  nice  driving  team, 
then  getting  the  best  rooms  in  the  hotel,  he  was  fixed  to  have  a  good  time 
as  long  as  his  money  lasted.  He  would  go  to  church,  attend  any  of  the 
little  functions  to  which  he  might  be  invited,  and  held  himself  up  as  an 
exceedingly  nice  young  man.  He  attended  a  meeting  one  evening,  called 
to  get  financial  assistance  for  the  Httle  college,  made  a  nice  talk  and 
said:  'I  have  no  money  at  this  time  to  give  to  this  institution,  but  I  will 
give  it  something  that,  in  my  opinion,  will  make  it  one  of  the  best  endowed 
schools  of  its  size  in  this  country.  I  will  give  several  thousand  shares 
in  a  mine  I  am  working  in  Colorado,  and  if  it  turns  out  as  well  as  I  expect. 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  131 

it  will  be  a  valuable  gift.'  He  turned  over  the  shares  to  the  trustees  and 
returned  to  the  hotel.  He  did  not  make  any  more  talk  about  the  mine, 
simply  sawed  wood.  As  he  was  appearing  to  have  a  good  time,  taking 
it  easy  and  not  working,  the  people  began  to  enquire  about  the  mine.  They 
would  come  and  ask  if  he  had  any  shares  for  sale.  He  would  reply  that 
he  did  not.  They  would  come  agam  and  actually  coa.\  him  to  let  them  in 
on  a  good  thing.  He  refused  to  sell  any  of  his,  but  he  had  a  partner  (?) 
who  might  sell  some.  'Would  he  write  the  partner?'  'Yes,  he  would, 
and  let  them  know  in  a  few  days.'  Of  course  the  partner  his  other  self) 
would  sell.  In  this  way  he  cleaned  up  nearly  $100,000,  and  left  for 
parts  unknown,  so  far  as  the  bunch  of  'Rubes'  were  concerned."  He 
had  never  asked  them  to  buy  a  share.  They  had  simply  gotten  in  on  a 
"Wild  Cat"  mine,  and  had  the  "pictures  for  their  money,"  as  General 
Chas.  S.  Warren  would  say.  This  kind  of  mining  (?)  has  been  played 
all  over  the  United  States.  It  is  the  sharper,  the  thief,  the  man  who  would 
hold  you  up  and  take  your  money  at  the  point  of  a  gun  that  will  "mine" 
in  this  way.  He  works  the  ignorant  and  unsophisticated,  and  because  of 
the  fact  that  men  have  made  money  in  buying  mining  shares,  he  uses  it 
as  an  advertisement  and  inducement  to  work  on  them  and  get  their  money. 
It  don't  make  any  difference  to  him  who  owns  the  money.  It  may  be  the 
orphan,  widow  or  shop  girl,  any  one.  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  a  city  in 
the  state  of  Maine,  while  on  this  trip.  I  put  up  at  a  little  hotel  on  the 
waterfront.  I  carried  the  gold  bars  with  me,  and  always  gave  them  to 
the  clerk  to  have  them  put  in  the  safe.  I  set  the  hand  bag  on  the  counter 
and  as  the  gentleman  pulled  it  off  the  weight  almost  jerked  the  bag  from 
his  hand.  He  said:  "Gosh,  Mr.  Noyes,  what  have  you  got  in  this 
bag,  it  almost  fell  on  the  floor,  it  is  so  heavy?"  I  showed  him  the  con- 
tents and  explained  to  him  what  they  were.  The  next  morning  I  noticed 
several  men  sitting  in  the  office,  among  them  a  portly  old  fellow,  who 
answered  to  the  title  of  "major."  The  hotel  man  asked  if  he  could  show 
the  gold  to  the  major,  as  he  was  a  mining  man.  I  told  him  to  go  ahead. 
He  took  the  large  brick,  six  ana  two-thirds  pounds,  avoirdupois,  and  said: 
"Major,  what  do  you  call  this?"  at  the  same  time  placing  it  in  his  hand. 
The  old  fellow  looked  at  it  a  moment  and  said:  "This  is  a  piece  of 
copper,"  and  made  several  remarks  for  the  enlightenment  of  his  friends  on 
mining  matters.  I  listened  to  him  a  few  moments,  and  walked  over  and 
said:  "Are  you  a  mining  man?"  "Well,  not  exactly,"  he  replied. 
"Have  you  ever  been  west  of  the  Mississippi  river?"  "No."  "Did  you 
ever,  in  fact,  see  a  mine?"  I  asked.  "No."  "I  thought  not.  It  is 
quite  evident  that  you  don't  know  anything  about  metals  or  you  would 
not  have  pronounced  that  copper.  Copper  is  not  as  heavy  as  gold  by 
nearly  one-half.  You  arc  simply  one  of  these  men  who  go  about  selling 
mining  shares  to  people,  taking  their  money  for  something  you  never  saw 
and  concerning  which  you  do  not  know  a  thing."  With  this  parting  shot, 
I  took  the  brick  and  handed  it  to  the  clerk. 


1S2  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

Price  and  myself  were  in  an  office  in  Worcester,  Mass.  They 
showed  us  some  ore  that  came  from  Mexico  ( ? ) .  This  was  a  piece  of 
galena,  honey-combed  and  full  of  gold.  They  told  us  that  there  was 
fourteen  feet  of  it  all  like  the  specimen,  and  that  they  only  wished  to 
sell  a  few  shares  in  order  to  get  some  money  to  put  up  a  small  mill,  etc. 
"You  say  that  you  have  fourteen  feet  of  rock  all  like  this?"  I  asked. 
"Yes,  sir,  fourteen  feet  all  like  that,"  he  replied.  "Let  me  tell  you  one 
thing:  If  you  have  that  much  ore  of  the  kind  this  looks  to  be,  you 
don't  need  anybody  to  put  up  one  cent,  because  you  could  take  a  mortar 
and  pound  out  by  hand,  in  a  mighty  short  time,  the  amount  you  claim 
to  need,"  and  we  left.  When  we  got  down  to  the  street,  Lou  said: 
"What  did  you  want  to  say  that  to  that  fellow  for?"  "Just  because  I 
felt  that  way.  It  is  just  such  fellows  that  keep  the  man  who  has,  or 
thinks  he  has,  a  good  legitimate  prospect  from  getting  a  few  dollars  to 
help  him  in  his  work.  That  outfit  doctored  that  piece  of  ore  and  you 
and  I  both  know  it,  and  I  wanted  him  to  know  that  I  knew  it.  You 
hear  about  the  money  lost  in  mining.  There  is  a  whole  lot  lost  that  way, 
I  will  admit,  but  most  of  it  is  lost  to  the  people  through  the  agency  of 
just  such  robbers  and  thieves  as  that  firm  we  just  left,  who  probably  never 
left  this  city,  in  their  lives,  to  go  farther  than  Boston  or  New  York. 
They  have  specimens  they  have  'fixed'  but  no  mine,"   I   replied. 

I  was  sitting  in  the  lobby  at  Young's  one  day  and  a  gentleman  came 
and  took  a  seat  near  me.  About  the  first  thing  he  said  was:  "You 
are  a  western  man,  aren't  you?"  I  replied  in  the  affirmative.  "I  thought 
you  were,"  he  said,  "and  you  are  here  on  a  mining  deal  of  some  kind, 
are  you  not?"  I  told  him  I  was.  He  then  told  me  the  following  little 
experience:  "I  am  from  Wyoming  and  have  prospected  a  whole  lot.  A 
few  years  ago  I  found  a  splendid  piece  of  property  and  proceeded  to  de- 
velop it  with  what  means  I  had.  I  soon  found  out  that  a  fellow  needed 
some  help  in  a  financial  way,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  come  to  this 
city.  I  told  my  story,  but  met  with  mighty  poor  success.  No  one  cared 
much,  as  they  could  not  understand  the  conditions.  They  did  not  believe 
that  a  man  with  a  good  prospect  needed  money.  'Why  can't  you  take 
enough  out  of  the  mine,  if  it  is  any  good,  to  put  you  on  your  feet?'  they 
would  ask.  I  could  explain  that  a  mine  might  have  quite  a  considerable 
amount  of  values  locked  up  in  it;  that  one,  unaided  and  alone,  could  not 
get  out.  That  it  might  be  located  so  far  from  a  railroad  and  in  a  place 
that  was  utterly  without  roads,  hence  impossible  to  get  the  ore  to  the  mill 
or  smelter,  even  though  it  might  contain  values  that  would  warrant,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  that  manner  of  procedure.  ITiat  many  of  the 
best  mines  in  the  world;  in  fact,  nearly  all  of  them,  needed  capital  in 
order  to  make  them  pay ;  that  in  the  hands  of  a  poor  man  they  would  never 
show  any  thing.  I  knew,  in  my  own  mind,  that  I  had  a  good  thing, 
but  to  get  any  of  these  men,  with  money,  to  believe  in  me  was  hell! 
God!  You  can't  know  how  I  almost  sweat  blood  in  my  endeavors  to  suc- 
ceed.    I  could  not  sleep;  I  walked  the  streets  night  after  night,  in  perfect 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX "  133 

agony.  Say!  You  probably  know  what  it  means.  I  had  struggled 
for  years  on  the  burning  plains  in  summer;  had  almost  starved  in  my  at- 
tempt to  find  something  that  would  pay;  had  put  in  many  and  many  a 
night  alone,  far  from  any  home  life;  had  faced  the  blizzards,  endured 
the  almost  arctic  cold — for  what?  A  prospect  that  no  one  would  believe 
in.  But  when  my  money  was  nearly  gone;  when  I  felt  like  throwing  my- 
self into  the  bay  out  there  and  ending  everything,  I  found  a  man  who  would 
listen  to  me.  He  went  out,  looked  it  over,  sampled,  assayed  and  studied 
conditions,  and  tonight  his  son  and  I  leave  the  old  city  of  Boston  for  the 
mountains  of  Wyoming  and  my  mine,  because  he  found  that  the  pros- 
pect was  much  better  than  I  had  led  him  to  believe.  I  hope  you  will 
succeed,  but  I  would  not  go  through  the  same  miserable  days  and  nights 
of  hellish  torment  endured  in  my  struggle  for  assistance  for  all  the  mines 
in  the  world." 

I  did  not  get  his  name  and  do  not  know  what  success  he  has  had.  I 
certainly  hope  he  has  made  good.  Any  one  who  goes  through  the  many 
hardships  that  the  ordinary  prospector  does  should  succeed.  When  he 
becomes  a  prospector  he  leaves  every  home  comfort  and  all  the  joys  of 
social  existence  for  the  very  questionable  chance  of  finding  a  paying  mine. 
Only  a  very  small  per  cent  of  those  who  find  it  have  nerve  or  ability 
enough  to  get  the  help  needed  to  make  the  prospect  into  a  mine.  I  know 
lots  of  men  that  found  the  leads  that  made  Daly,  Clark,  Mackey,  and 
others,  worth  millions,  who  have,  in  their  old  age,  no  place  but  a  pauper's 
pillow  on  which  to  lay  their  heads,  whose  coffins  will  be  the  cheapest  pine 
box  and  whose  unmarked  graves  will  tell  of  no  achievement,  because  they 
lacked  the  nerve  or  were  not  endowed  with  the  ability  to  get  the  men 
with  cash  to  help  them  "make  the  mine."  I  did  not  meet  many  Mon- 
tana men  in  Boston,  although  I  met,  as  before  mentioned,  men  who  owned 
shares  in  the  Butte  mines. 

Lou  Parker  of  Deer  Lodge  found  us  both  in  Boston  and  Worces- 
ter. He  was  a  gentleman  very  pleasing  to  meet.  I  have  seen  him  since 
in  Montana,  and  also  in  Los  Angeles.  He  was  not  successful  in  his 
venture  in  Boston  that  year.  Fourth  of  July!  This  grand  day  came 
to  find  me  alone  in  the  city.  The  colonel  had  found  some  more  of  his 
"cousins,"  or  heard  of  some  more,  in  a  little  place  near  the  city  and 
had  gone  to  see  them.  I  knew  I  would  enjoy  myself.  There  would  be 
a  great  display  of  fire  works  on  Boston  Common.  I  would  take  that  in 
as  a  treat  ever  to  be  remembered  with  pleasure.  When  evening  came,  I 
went  to  the  Commons  to  find  out  that  that  display  was  not  gotten  up  for 
my  special  benefit.  Others,  in  some  way,  had  heard  of  it,  and  when  I 
arrived  it  was  to  find  myself  on  the  outskirts  of  "skirts,"  whose  head- 
gear was  so  high  and  of  such  large  dimensions  that  it  was  utterly  impos- 
sible for  me  to  see  any  of  the  fire  works;  so  I  retreated  to  my  room  the 
most  homesick  and  disgusted  person,  probably,  in  the  "Hub."  I  actually 
wished  that  I  was  out  on  the  "Grasshopper."  where  I  could  get  one 
good  whiff   of   sage  brush  and  see   a   jack   rabbit   that  would   be  just  as 


134  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

sociable,  in  his  most  active  endeavor  to  get  away,  as  were  the  people  in 
this  immense  crowd  on  Independence  Day.  Alone  in  a  crowd  is  worse 
than  being  alone,  alone.  When  the  colonel  came  I  explained  what  a 
grand  and  glorious  day  it  was  and  how  I  sincerely  enjoyed  the  fire  works — 
of  my  own  mind..  As  I  have  said,  the  colonel  was  a  good  story  teller. 
He  could  enter  any  crowd  and  find  people  who  were  glad  to  meet  him 
again,  because  of  his  ability  to  appear  jolly  and  full  of  fun.  One  day  he 
told  the  following  story,  which  he  claimed  happened  to  him,  or  in  his 
presence : 

"I  was  raised  on  Prince  Edward  Island.  There  was  an  Irish  school 
teacher  who  also  helped  his  little  salary  by  going  out  into  various  sections 
of  the  island  and  writing  insurance  or  any  little  thing  that  would  add  to 
his  bank  account.  He  was  a  mighty  inquisitive  fellow  and  always  wanted 
to  know  the  why  and  wherefore  of  everything.  One  Saturday  he  said: 
'Louis,  don't  you  want  to  take  a  drive  out  in  the  country  with  me?  You 
will  be  handy  to  hold  the  horses,  and  will  also  get  to  see  more  of  your 
native  land.'  I  agreed  and  he  got  a  team  and  we  started  out.  About 
noon  we  came  to  a  nice  looking  farm  house  and  my  Irish  friend  asked  the 
lady  if  we  could  'bait'  our  horses  and  get  something  to  eat  ourselves.  She 
told  us  to  put  the  horses  in  the  stable,  as  all  the  men  were  busy,  and 
come  in  and  make  ourselves  comfortable.  She  was  a  mighty  pretty  young 
woman,  neat,  tasty  and  very  attractive.  When  the  men  came  in  from  the 
harvest  field,  there  was  a  big  black  nigger  in  the  bunch.  After  they  had 
washed,  the  dinner  being  on  the  table,  the  coon  sat  up  to  the  head  of  the 
table  and  invited  us  to  set  down  and  eat.  That  black  fellow  was  the 
woman's  husband!  Atter  we  were  through  eating,  the  coon  excused  him- 
self, saying  that  he  was  sorry  that  he  could  not  stay  and  entertain  us,  but 
the  harvest  was  on  in  full  blast  and  he  must  attend  to  it;  that  we  could 
stay  as  long  as  we  wished,  etc.  After  he  had  left  the  house,  the  Irish- 
man said  to  the  lady:  'There  is  one  thing  I  can't  understand.  How  is 
it  that  such  a  nice  looking  lady  as  you  are  came  to  marry  a  colored  man?' 
'Oh,  that's  an  easy  question  to  answer,'  she  replied,  'my  sister  disgraced 
the  fatnily  and  I  didn't  care  what  became  of  myself.'  'Your  sister  dis- 
graced the  family?  In  what  way,  please?'  the  damned  fool  asked.  'Oh, 
she  married  an  Irishman,'  was  her  reply." 

When  the  colonel  got  through  with  his  yarn  a  gentleman  said:  "I 
never  heard  that  story  in  that  particular  way  before,  Colonel  Price." 
"Oh,  well  a  fellow  has  got  to  have  the  story  originate  in  some  way,  you 
know,  so  I  thought  it  just  as  well  to  have  made  it  a  personal  experience." 
This  only  goes  to  show  that  "there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  even 
new(?)    stories   are   chestnuts. 

We  left  Boston  and  went  to  Philadelphia  and  Norristown.  We 
were  unable  to  do  any  good  in  either  of  those  places,  I  had  an  old  friend 
in  Norristown  whom  I  had  met  in  Wisdom,  a  Mr.  Landis.  He  was  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  business  men  of  the  city,  and  called  a  little 
meeting  where  the  colonel  and  I  met  and  explained  what  we  thought  we 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"'  135 

had.     We  were  too  late  to  interest  these  people  in  any  mining  scheme  for 
the  following  reason:     One  of  their  townsmen,  well  known  to  all  of  them, 
had   gotten   hold   of   a   sack   of   gold   nuggets.      Going   into   one   of   their 
offices  he  would  say:      "I  have  got  something  to  show  you  old  fellows," 
and  would  open  the  sack  and  turn  these  pieces  of  gold  on  the  desk.  Then 
he  would  explain  that  he  had  found  a  place  where  the  stuff  was  in  great 
abundance,    but   that   it    required    an    expenditure    of   many    thousands    of 
dollars   to   bring  water   to   it   for   hydraulic   purposes.      With   the   nuggets 
as    evidence    of    the    truthfulness    of    his    story,    he    soon    acquired    about 
$100,000,  part  of   which   he   gave   to  an  Orphan  society,   and  with   the 
balance  he  was  sojourning  in  Europe — at  the  time  I  was  trying  to  induce 
them  to  help  me.      They  told  me  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  this  man's 
perfidious  conduct  they  might  have  helped.     This  man  Landis  was  a  builder 
and  contractor,   and   in  introducing  me  he  said:      "I  do  not  know  what 
Noyes  has  got.     I  do  know  this,  he  thinks  he  has  a  good  thing  and  I  know 
he  will  not  lie  to  us.      If  the  mine  is  not  good,  it  is  simply  a  mistake  of 
his   judgment.      I    will    go   in   with   you   men   and   furnish   the   money   he 
wants,   if  you  are  willing  to  take  a   chance."      Leaving   Norristown  and 
Philadelphia,  we  returned  to  Boston  via  New  York,  where  we  stayed  a 
few   days   without   any   good   results.      We   got  our  old   room   in    Boston 
at  the  Young's.     From  this  room  one  could  look  across  the  court  into  the 
room  that  Tom  Lawson  generally  used  as  a  banqueting  room.     We  often 
saw  them  dining  there  and  were  told  that  that  was  the  nice  way  of  ap- 
proaching a  man  for  his  money ;  when  his  stomach  was  full  and  his  mind 
had  become  befuddled  with  wine.     The  day  we  got  ready  to  leave  Boston 
a  party  came  into  the  hotel  and  meeting  the  colonel,  totd  him  he  would 
take   him    around    and   introduce   him   to   Tom   Lawson.      They   went   to 
Tom's  place  of  business,  but  he  was  busy.     The  colonel  was  told  to  wait 
a   little   while.      After   waiting   for   fifteen   minutes,   he    said    to   a   clerk: 
"How  long  before   I  can  see  Mr.   Lawson?"      "Can't  say,  exactly,   but 
it  will  only  be  a   few  minutes,"   was  the   reply.      The   colonel   waited   a 
few  minutes  and  again  asked  the  question,  to  which  a  similar  reply  was 
given.      The  Colonel  said:      "You  tell  Tom  to  go  to  hell.      My  time  is 
just  as  valuable  as  his  and  I  won't  wait  any  longer."     I  don't  believe  Tom 
went,    because    he    has    written    "Frenzied    Finance    and    The    Remedy" 
since.     I  was  much  disappointed  in  Boston,  from  the  standpoint  of  raising 
money.      I  had  come  with  letters  of   introduction  that  were   from   friends 
in  good  positions;  a  friend,  Fred  Smith,  cashier  of  a  prominent  Minneap- 
olis  bank,   had   given   me   a   letter   to   Frank   Curtis,   cashier   of   the    First 
National  Bank  of  Boston.     Curtis  was  a  mighty  fine  gentleman  and  though 
very  busy,  took  me  to  several  prominent  men,  in  a  financial  way,  and  gave 
me  an  introduction.      Among  others,   a   Mr.   Weeks,   the  president  of  the 
Stock   Exchange.      He  told   me   that   he  did   not  believe  that   any   mining 
deal  could  be  swung  at  that  time,  as  the  coppers  were  falling  every  day. 
the  Amalgamated  going  as  low  as  $34.      He  said,  however,  for  mc  to  go 
any  place  I  wanted  and  use  his  name,  and  he  would  stand  behind  it.     He 


136  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

was  certainly  a  very  agreeable  gentleman.  (He  has  since  been  elected 
senator  from  Massachusetts). 

We  came  to  Boston,  as  before  mentioned,  on  an  excursion  ticket. 
These  tickets  had  been  deposited  at  a  ticket  office.  When  we  went  for 
them.  Price  said  :  "We  want  to  stop  off  at  Niagara  Falls  on  our  way 
back,"  and  would  like  to  know  what  is  required  to  do  so.  There  was 
no  answer  from  any  of  the  dozen  men  in  the  room,  not  even  from  the  man 
who  was  getting  our  tickets.  "Do  you  understand  that  we  want  to  stop 
off  at  Niagara  Falls?"  the  Colonel  again  asked.  The  main  guy  in  the 
office,  a  good  big  fellow,  made  a  very  foolish  and  cranky  reply  to  the 
question.  This  made  the  Colonel  pretty  warm  in  the  collar,  and  he  said: 
"Who  in  hell  are  you?  I  came  here  and  asked  a  civil  question  for  infor- 
mation, and  get  a  reply  not  fit  to  be  given  to  a  dog.  I  will  show  you  that 
there  are  other  people  living  in  this  world  besides  railroad  men.  You 
don't  own  all  the  earth  by  a  whole  lot,  and  I  will  prove  it  to  you  in  about 
a  minute,"  and  the  Colonel  was  making  determined  efforts  to  climb  over 
the  counter  and  I  was  holding  on  his  coat,  whispering  to  go  slow.  Mr. 
"Headman"  noticed  he  had  raised  the  ire  of  my  huge  friend  and  he  came 
down  from  his  "high  horse"  and  apologized,  to  the  evident  amusement 
of  all  the  clerks  present.  When  the  clerk  came  back  with  the  tickets  he 
explained  what  we  had  to  do  in  order  to  stay  over;  Price  said:  "Thank 
you;  if  you  had  replied  as  kindly  to  my  first  question  there  would  have 
been  no  disturbance.  You  must  remember  that  people  who  travel  do  not 
know  as  much  as  the  railroad  people  concerning  some  things,  and  they  need 
a   little  information  once  in   a  while." 

Well,  we  were  now  ready  to  leave  old  Boston.  We  had  enjoyed 
some  of  the  things  we  saw,  but  had  not  been  able  to  swell  our  bank  ac- 
count. We  only  intended  to  go  as  far  as  Chicago,  and  work  in  and 
about  that  city  for  a  while.  On  the  train  we  met  a  gentleman,  an  editor 
of  a  prominent  paper  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  We  were  detained  at  the  east 
end  of  the  Hoosick  tunnel  for  quite  a  little  while,  and  this  gentleman 
entered  into  conversation  with  Colonel  Price.  He  pointed  out,  in  the 
distance,  a  place  said  to  have  been  the  birthplace  of  Marshall  Field,  and 
told  that  Field,  as  a  boy,  had  hired  out  to  clerk  for  a  little  country  mer- 
chant, but  at  the  end  of  the  first  month  was  sent  home  with  this  word: 
"Marshall  may  make  a  farmer,  he  will  never  make  a  merchant."  Con- 
versation never  runs  long  in  the  same  channel,  or  on  the  same  subject,  and 
it  did  not  take  a  long  time  for  this  gentleman  to  take  us  to  the  exposition 
at  Chicago,  thence  to  the  Nile,  Damascus,  and  the  "Tomb  of  Our 
Savior."  He  described  many  of  the  oriental  customs,  and  told,  in  partic- 
ular of  an  experience  he  had  at  Damascus.  It  appears  that  the  merchants 
in  those  countries  solicit  your  trade  in  a  manner  that  is  not  at  all  agree- 
able to  an  American.  He  was  being  pulled  and  hauled  about  in  a  way 
that  was  fast  becoming  disgusting,  when  a  young  man  stepped  up  and  said : 
"This  gentleman  agreed,  if  he  ever  came  to  Damascus,  to  come  to  my 
place  of  business,  and  I  presume  that  there  is  where  he  wishes  to  go  now." 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  137 

I  was  much  surprised  to  hear  him  make  the  remark,  but  found  that  I 
had  actually  met  him  in  Chicago  and  had  promised  to  call  on  him  if  I 
ever  came  to  his  city.  This  was  a  remarkable  feat  of  memory  it  appeared 
to  me.  After  he  had  explained  what  he  had  seen,  in  various  places,  he 
told  of  the  "Holly  City."  Price  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  Jesus 
Christ.  "Well,  my  friend.  I  hardly  know  what  to  say,  but,  for  1800 
years  the  influence  of  that  man  has  been  felt.  Preach  His  name  in  the 
cannibal  islands  of  the  sea ;  tell  the  Bushmen  of  Australia  'The  Story'  and 
you  are  safe  from  their  barbarities.  No  one  has  had  so  much  influence 
for  good  in  all  the  ages,  so  there  is  much  for  us  to  consider  in  forming 
an  opinion."  At  last  we  arrived  at  Niagara  Falls.  We  took  in  every 
thing  of  interest,  went  on  a  ride  down  the  gorge  and  had  a  good  time  in 
general.  We  took  particular  pains  to  go  through  the  "Shredded  Wheat 
Biscuit  Plant,"  as  the  man  Perky  was  an  old  friend  of  the  colonel's.  As 
we  were  very  anxious  to  reach  Chicago,  we  left  Niagara  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. On  the  train  we  met  a  gentleman  who  was  engaged  in  manufac- 
turing in  Detroit;  he  thought  it  possible  for  us  to  do  some  business  in  that 
city  and  wanted  us  to  get  off  there,  but  as  our  tickets  were  good  as  far 
as  Chicago  we  concluded  to  go  on.  We  landed  O.  K.  in  Chicago  and 
went  to  see  Harry  Hull,  a  former  school  teacher  at  Dillon,  who  was  now 
engaged  in  the  mining  game.  He  had  taken  over  the  Toledo  mine  at 
Sheridan,  Montana,  and  had  succeeded  in  getting  quite  a  lot  of  money 
with  which  to  develop  it.  There  was  no  one  with  whom  he  could  put  us 
in  touch,  so  we  went.  Price  to  Detroit  and  I  to  Laporte.  Dr.  Harvey 
Martin,  a  brother-in-law  of  my  cousin  W.  A.  Stanchfield,  had  been  in 
Montana  and  had,  that  summer,  visited  the  Ajax  and  was  much  impressed 
with  it.  The  fact  is,  he  had  not  returned  to  Laporte  when  I  got  there, 
so  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  go  down  and  help  the  Colonel  at  Detroit. 
We  did  not  fly  very  high  in  that  city,  living  in  a  second  class  hotel. 
Price  had  been  introduced  to  the  club  of  which  the  gentleman  before  re- 
ferred to  was  a  member;  he  had  made  quite  a  lot  of  friends,  but  no  one 
that  had  money  to  invest  could  be  found.  Newbro,  the  "Herpicide" 
man,  formerly  of  Butte,  called  with  some  of  these  gentlemen,  presumably 
to  see  if  we  were  what  we  pretended  to  be.  We  were  nearly  two  weeks 
in  Detroit.  On  our  arrival  in  Laporte  we  found  Dr.  Martin  had  just 
returned  from  Montana.  We  tried  to  get  people  in  that  section  interested 
so  that  they  would  buy  some  shares,  but  were  not  successful.  Dr.  Martin 
at  last  agreed  to  stand  behind  me  for  money  at  his  home  bank,  so  that  we 
could  go  ahead  and  enlarge  the  mill.  This  was  indeed  kindly  aid.  We 
had  tried  all  kinds  of  argument  in  the  various  places  we  had  visited,  with 
the  people  who  were  kind  enough  to  listen.  Price  tells  a  little  story  on  me. 
He  said:  "I  got  up  early  one  morning  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  called 
Al.  He  did  not  respond,  so  I  opened  the  door  to  his  room  and  found 
that  he  had  gone.  I  was  somewhat  worried,  as  he  had  never  done  anything 
like  that  before,  so.  before  breakfast.  I  started  out  to  see  if  I  could  find 
him.      In  all  those  eastern  cities  they  have  a  monument  in  a  public  square 


138  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

to  commemorate  the  valliant  services  of  the  citizens  that  died  to  uphold  the 
flag  on  the  battlefield,  or  in  the  fights  with  an  enemy  on  the  sea.  The 
one  at  Worcester  was  a  large  granite  shaft,  if  I  remember  correctly,  with 
four  life  size  figures,  one  at  each  corner  of  the  pedestal.  I  do  not  know 
what  lead  me,  but  I  soon  came  in  sight  of  this  monument  and  saw  Al 
shaking  his  head  and  working  both  arms  at  once.  I  stepped  up  behind 
him  and  overheard  him  say:  'You  fellows  will  never  regret  it  if  you  take 
a  few  shares  in  the  Ajax  at  the  present  prices.'  I  tapped  him  on  the 
shoulder  and  said:  'You  fool,  those  fellows  are  made  out  of  stone.'  He 
turned  on  me  with  some  heat  and  replied:  'I  don't  care  a  damn  what 
they  are  made  out  of;  they  are  the  first  fellows  that  I  could  find  in  this 
city  that  would  stand  and  listen  to  my  story  of  the  Ajax,  so  I  propose 
to  talk  to  them.     You  git!'  " 

As  before  stated,  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  people  to  listen. 
I  made  several  trips  to  Michigan  City,  while  at  Laporte,  to  try  and  interest 
people  there.  Dr.  Frank  Martin  introduced  me  to  many,  but  my  "story" 
was  not  strong  enough  to  convince  them.  Dr.  Martin  said:  "Noyes,  you 
don't  lie  enough.  They  expect  wonderful  things  and  are  only  ready  to 
believe  the  fabulous  concerning  a  mine.  You  should  not  tell  them  that 
there  is  a  possibility  of  any  loss;  only  sure  gain."  I  was  walking  along 
the  streets  of  Michigan  City  one  day  and  I  met  a  lady  with  a  little 
club-footed  child,  a  little,  pleasant-faced  girl.  She  was  about  three  or 
four  years  of  age  and  put  me  to  thinking  of  my  little  grand-child  back  in 
Montana.  I  simply  wanted  to  do  something  for  her.  I  told  Dr.  Harvey 
Martin  that  I  did  not  have  any  money,  but  that  I  would  give  1 ,000 
shares  of  Ajax  stock  to  any  one  that  would  effect  a  cure.  She  was 
found  and  the  Martin  Brothers  operated  on  her  and  helped  her  ma- 
terially. I  have  often  thought,  and  feel  thankful  for  it,  that  the  old 
Ajax  was  the  means  of  doing  some  good  in  the  world  to  others,  even 
though  she  greased  the  "toboggan  slide"  for  me. 

The  day  came  when  the  Colonel  and  I  were  to  separate;  he  to  stay 
and  do  all  he  could,  I  to  go  back  to  Montana  and  begin  the  enlargement 
of  the  mill.  I  took  money  enough  to  pay  my  way  to  Dillon  and  gave  him 
the  rest  (which  was  none  too  much).  On  my  way  home,  in  North  Dakota, 
I  met  McKenzie,  the  big  politician  of  that  state,  and  who  is  said  to  have 
been  one  of  the  characters  in  Rex  Beach's  book  "The  Spoilers."  I 
landed  in  Dillon  early  Sunday  morning,  and  as  Mrs.  Noyes  and  the  chil- 
dren would  come  in  from  the  lanch  that  day,  I  had  to  rustle  some 
groceries,  meat,  etc.  When  going  home  I  met  Morse,  who 
was  very  much  surprised  to  see  me,  as  I  had  not  written  that  I 
would  be  back  so  soon.  He  went  to  my  house  with  me  and  began  to 
question  me  as  to  results.  I  explained  just  what  had  been  done  and  that 
I  should  go  ahead  and  put  five  more  stamps  in  the  mill.  He  heard  me 
through  and  then  said:  "Al  Noyes,  we're  broke!  And  I  will  tell  you 
one  thing  that  will  break  us,  and  that  is  the  $6,000  we  owe  on  the 
Ajax  ranch.     Those  fellows  want  it  and  want  it  right  now,  and  we  can't 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  139 

get  it."  I  looked  at  him  a  moment  and  began  to  laugh.  He  said: 
"What  do  you  see  in  our  present  condition  to  laugh  about.  I  tell  you 
we  are  in  a  mighty  bad  position,  and  I  myself  do  not  see  any  way  out  of 
it."  "Well,  Morse,"  I  replied,  "I  do  not  look  at  this  matter  as  you  do. 
We  are  not  going  broke.  I  can  get  that  $6,000  inside  of  10  days.' 
"You  can't  do  any  such  a  thing,  and  you  know  it,"  he  said.  "All  right, 
we  won't  worry  about  that  until  the  time  comes.  I  will  take  it  on  my- 
self to  raise  that  money  so  that  we  will  not  have  any  trouble  along  that 
score,"  I  replied.  "It  is  all  right  for  you  to  talk  the  way  you  do,  but 
you  know  as  well  as  I  that  we  are  in  a  mighty  bad  fix,  and  that  there  is 
no  way  to  keep  from  going  to  pieces,"  he  said.  "Now,  look  here,  J.  E., 
I  want  to  tell  you  something  that  you  have  probably  overlooked.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  I  may  not  be  able  to  pull  out  of  the  financial  trouble 
I  am  in ;  but  you  need  not  worry  one  moment  as  to  yourself,  because  the 
banks  would  not  allow  you  to  go  broke.  Did  you  ever  take  into  con- 
sideration the  effect  it  would  have  on  Beaverhead  county  if  J,  E.  Morse 
were  to  go  broke?  Probably  you  have  not,  but  I  have,  as  it  would  break 
almost  every  man  in  the  county  that  was  at  all  in  debt.  The  banks 
know  this,  and  they  will  never  call  on  you  until  you  are  ready ;  all  you 
need  is  a  stiff  upper  lip,  and  you  will  come  out  O.  K."  Mrs.  Noyes 
and  the  children  came  about  noon,  and  Morse  came  back  in  the  afternoon 
to  talk  to  me  about  conditions.  He  turned  to  Mrs.  Noyes  and  said:  "Al 
is  so  full  of  enthusiasm  that  it  does  me  good  to  talk  to  him;  he  really 
does  fill  one  with  hope,  even  though  things  do  not  look  the  brightest." 
We  did  need  the  $6,000  to  pay  the  Butte  bank  and  I  set  out  to  find 
where  it  was  to  come  from,  as  it  was  up  to  me  to  make  good.  I  wrote 
to  Dr.  Martin  and  explained  matters,  and  he  found  a  friend  of  his  that 
would  advance  the  money  if  I  was  not  able  to  get  it  nearer  home.  Armed 
with  this  letter  I  went  to  Butte.  I  called  on  Jim  Forbis  and  asked  him  if 
he  knew  where  a  person  could  get  $6,000.  "$6,000!  Why,  Al  Noyes, 
if  I  wanted  that  much  money,  I  do  not  know  where  I  could  go  in  the 
city  of  Butte,  even  though  I  was  to  put  up  this  business  block  (a  three- 
story  brick  near  the  Thornton  hotel)  to  get  it."  I  had  in  mind 
S.  &  B.  with  whom  I  had  done  business  before,  and  went 
to  them.  B.  went  with  me  to  the  bank,  where  we  had 
quite  a  long  talk  with  the  banker.  We  started  back  to  the  office  of 
S.  &  B.  and  I  told  B.  that  I  was  perfectly  independent; 
that  it  was  up  to  him  to  do  business  with  me  and  do  it 
quick  or  not  at  all,  as  I  had  a  letter  from  Laporte,  Indiana,  saying 
that  the  money  would  be  wired  me  any  time  I  called  for  it.  B.  did 
not  take  time  to  go  into  his  office,  but  said:  "We  will  go  back  down  to 
that  bank  and  I  will  sign  you  a  check,"  which  he  did.  Walking  up  Main 
street  a  few  minutes  after  I  met  Jim  Forbis,  and  told  him  that  I  had 
made  the  rustle.  His  reply  was:  "Al  Noyes,  you  must  be  a  dandy  if 
you  can  come  up  here  and  get  that  much  money  in  a  day,  the  way  things 
are."      You  must  remember  the  copper  stocks  were  very  low  and  hence 


140  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

not   much   enthusiasm   in    Butte.      I    reached   home   that   evening   and   re- 
ported my  success  to  Morse,  who  was  very  well  pleased  over  the  result. 

It  became  necessary  to  find  some  stamps  that  could  be  had  for  a 
reasonable  amount.  This  work  fell  to  me.  I  soon  found  where  these 
could  be  had,  if  they  were  in  good  condition,  at  a  point  down  in  Idaho, 
where  a  quartz  mill  had  been  burned.  I  made  the  trip  down  there  and 
found  everything  in  fairly  good  shape.  It  was  then  up  to  me  to  find  a 
millwright  that  really  knew  how  to  put  up  a  stamp  mill.  An  old  gentle- 
man, Thomas  White  Fisher,  was  recommended  as  first  class  in  his  line. 
I  got  him  to  meet  me  in  Butte,  when  we  talked  the  matter  over,  with  the 
result  that  he  agreed  to  do  the  work,  asking  that  he  could  fetch  a  man 
to  help  him  do  the  framing.  We  soon  had  these  men  on  the  ground, 
where  they  were  to  get  timbers  ready  while  the  little  five  stamp  mill  was 
to  make  its  last  run.  As  the  weather  was  very  nice  during  the  fall,  I 
got  Mr.  Roe  to  make  the  trip  to  the  mine  with  me,  as  he  was  our  banker, 
and  had  also  had  more  or  less  experience  in  mining,  having  been  West 
since  1 862.  He  was  a  man  on  the  shady  side  of  60,  and  stood  the 
trip  as  well  or  better  than  many  younger  ones.  While  he  did  not  say 
anything,  I  could  tell  that  he  was  very  much  pleased  with  what  he  saw. 
I  spent  part  of  my  time  at  the  ranch,  as  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  rid  of 
our  hay.  We  did  not  have  many  cattle  on  hand,  and  did  have  a  nice  lot 
of  hay.  We  certainly  needed  the  money  mighty  bad.  On  my  birthday, 
December  2,  I  arrived  at  the  ranch  to  find  a  representative  of  Mrs. 
Marcus  Daly,  who  wanted  what  hay  I  could  spare.  I  sold  him  $4,400 
worth  and  sent  the  money  or  check  to  J.  E.  This,  he  said,  was  the  biggest 
piece  of  money  he  ever  saw  in  his  life,  not  that  it  was  in  fact,  but  it  came 
at  a  time  of  need.  "Mother,"  Len  and  the  boys  had  had  full  charge 
of  the  ranch  that  season,  and  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  run  it,  as  money 
was  mighty  hard  to  get  with  which  to  pay  the  men.  Strowbridge  had  done 
all  he  could  with  the  store  money,  credit,  etc.,  to  help  both  ranch 
and  mine,  and  it  was  a  mighty  up-hill  proposition.  As  it  was  not  easy 
to  keep  a  cook  at  the  lower  camp,  I  got  Edna  to  go  up  and  attend  to  that 
for  us.  Little  Charlie  was  only  eight  months  old  and  the  cabin  was  not 
the  most  agreeable  one  in  the  world.  Picture  to  yourself  the  tall,  over- 
hanging mountains  covered  with  snow;  see  a  low  log  cabin  surrounded  by 
evergreens  that  made  it  none  too  light,  even  in  the  most  agreeable  and 
sunny  weather;  think  of  the  fierce  winds  that  hurled  the  light  snows 
of  an  early  winter  around  your  abode  until  the  great  drifts  were  almost  up 
to  the  eaves,  and  the  snow  covered  the  roof  three  or  four  feet  deep. 
Here,  in  one  room,  a  home  was  to  be  made  for  three  or  four  people, 
while  the  provisions  were  also  stored  and  the  kitchen,  dining  and  bed 
room  was  all  in  one;  then,  to  cap  it  all,  a  little  baby  in  its  mother's  arms, 
became  sick  unto  death.  He  had  been  sick  for  several  days  and  I  had 
sent  his  father  for  the  doctor,  28  miles  away.  I  was  at  the  mill  when 
some  of  the  men  came  rushing  up  the  hill  to  tell  me  they  thought  the 
baby  was  dying.     I  went  to  the  cabin,  and  the  little  fellow  was  stiff  in 


THE  STORY  OF    'AJAX'  141 

its  mother's  arms.     Convulsive  sobs  rung  her  frame,  and  with  tears  stream- 
ing down  her  face  she  said:      "Papa,   my  baby  is  dying,  what  can  we 
do?"     I  found  a  httle  whisky,  made  a  toddy  and  gave  it  to  him,  and  in 
a   few   moments   he  came   out  of   his   convulsions,   broke   out   into  profuse 
perspiration  and  in  a  few  moments  was  nursing,  something  he  had  not  done 
for  several   days.      In  the   meantime,   I   had  dispatched  two  of   the   men, 
Harry  Kanute,  and  some  one  else,  to  go  and  hurry  up  the  doctor.     One  was 
to  go  via  the  ranch,  the  other  by  Fox's.     These  boys  made  record  time, 
arriving  at  Wisdom,   28  miles  over  snow   roads,   in  two   hours   and  fifty 
minutes,  the  first   1  1    miles  in  55   minutes.     The  doctor  and  Len  had  not 
started,    but    they    soon    were    on    the    road    and    changing    horses    at    the 
ranch,  where  Mart  Houston  was  on  the  watch  for  them,  they  soon  got  to 
the  mill,  to  find  the  baby  much  improved.     I  requested  the  doctor  to  stay 
until  the  baby  was  out  of  danger.     In  a  couple  of  days  he  told  me  that  he 
could   hold   out   no   encouragement    for   ultimate   recovery.      I   got   Jimmy 
Milne   to  take  a  team  and   rush   to   Dillon   for  Mrs.   Noyes.      He  could 
phone  from  Grey's,  and  did  so.     She  got  a  team  at  Anderson  Bros.'  to  take 
her  to  that  place  and  Jimmy  brought  her  through  to  the  mine  in  one  day, 
where  she  arrived  about  midnight.      That  day,  just  before  dinner,   I  was 
on  the  cabin  shoveling  off  the  snow  when  the  doctor  came  out  and  said: 
"The   child   can't   possibly    last   through    the   day."      I    called   to    Harry 
Kanute,  who  was  hauling  logs,  and  told  him  to  put  his  team  in  the  stable, 
as  we  would  start  for  the  valley  as  soon  as  the  baby  died.      I  turned  to 
the  doctor  and  asked  if  there  was  nothing  else  he  could  do.      He  said: 
"I  can  try  one  more  thing,  but  can't  offer  any  encouragement  whatever, 
Noyes."      He  tried  and  the  baby  lived  and  is  alive  today,   eleven  years 
after,  but  he  has  been  deaf  and  dumb  ever  since. 

I  could  not  draw  a  pen  picture  that  would  give  one  any  idea  of  the 
worry,  misery,  despondency  and  gloom  that  filled  the  little  low  log  cabin, 
banked  high  with  snow,  on  the  head  of  Big  Swamp  creek  those  days  when 
little  Charles'  life  hung  on  such  a  slender  thread.  It  was  a  relief  when 
"Mother"  came.  She  brought  the  knowledge  and  care  of  a  tender  nurse. 
We  had  been  working  hard,  with  a  full  force,  to  build  a  new  cabin 
near  the  mill  that  would,  at  least,  have  some  semblance  of  comfort.  This 
was  completed  and  the  baby  was  moved  there,  where,  in  the  sunshine  that 
came  in  at  the  south  windows,  he  began  to  grow  strong.  "Mother"  and 
the  children  returned  to  Dillon  and  we  continued  with  our  work.  I  do 
not  know  the  date  when  we  dropped  the  stamps  in  the  large  mill.  It  did 
not  take  but  a  short  time  to  find  that  she  would  eat  up  a  lot  of  rock. 
We  needed  miners  and  I  had  to  go  to  Butte  for  some;  many  of  them 
did  not  prove  any  good,  as  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  miner  in  one  of 
the  large  camps  that  can  go  in  an  outside  camp  and  do  good  work.  The 
mill  men  said:  "Send  down  more  ore."  The  miners  were  sore  and  they 
did  not  send  the  clean  stuff,  much  of  the  countiy  rock  found  its  way  to  the 
ore  bin.  to  be  thrown  to  one  side,  or  if  put  through,  to  cut  down  values. 
Ducharmc  did   the  amalgamating,    I  om  Landers  did  the  assaying.  Uncle 


\ 


142  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

Will  Stanchfield  was  foreman,  Hugh  McGarry  was  shift  boss.  We  had 
ore  teams  to  haul  the  ore  from  the  mine  to  tha  lower  tramway.  We  had 
to  haul  concentrates  to  Wisdom.  The  road  to  the  mine  was  along 
the  side  of  a  steep  mountain.  The  winds  would  fill  the  tracks  as  a  general 
thing  as  soon  as  one  was  over.  The  road  that  began  on  the  grade  kept 
climbing  the  mountain  until  it  was  at  least  !  00  feet  higher  than  when  we 
began.  The  ends  of  the  single  trees  marked  the  trees  1 5  and  20  feet 
high  on  account  of  the  deep  snow.  It  was  a  mighty  disagreeable  job 
to  break  a  road  through  eight  feet  of  snow  in  order  to  get  cord  wood, 
but  this  must  be  done.  I  have  said  that  the  mill  men  called  for  more 
ore,  but  the  miners  did  not  appear  to  be  able  to  furnish  it.  Wilber  E. 
Sanders,  a  mining  man,  a  son  of  Senator  Sanders,  had  been  doing  some 
work  on  Steele  creek,  on  the  Maynard  Bros.  &  Clifford's  mine.  He  had 
installed  an  electric  drill,  which  proved  a  success.  As  the  Maynards  could 
not  accept  the  price  he  offered  (which  was  a  long  one),  he  left  the 
Basin  and  they  got  all  the  machmery.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I 
would  buy  this  machine  and  install  it  in  the  Ajax,  providing  I  could  make 
satisfactory  terms  with  them.  I  called  on  them,  and  they  said  I  could 
take  the  outfit  and  if  it  worked,  I  could  pay  them  $1,000  for  it,  or  I 
could  return  it  and  reinstall  it  in  their  mine  in  as  good  a  condition  as  when 
I  found  it.  With  such  an  understanding,  I  sent  my  men  for  it,  and 
went  on  to  Dillon  on  another  matter  of  business.  I  returned  in  a  day  or 
two  to  Wisdom  and  found  that  they  had  come  to  the  conclusion  not  to 
let  me  have  it  until  they  received  the  cash.  Cash!  Gosh!  Where 
was  I  to  get  the  cash?  I  made  up  my  mind  to  see  "mother"  and  see  if 
she  would  agree  to  sell  our  home.  She  did  and  soon  finding  a  buyer,  I 
took  my  thousand  dollars  and  returned  to  Wisdom  and  sent  the  teams 
again  to  the  Maynard  Bros,  and  got  the  machine.  In  the  meantime, 
merry  hell  had  been  going  on  at  the  mine.  The  drivers  had  gone  on  a 
strike  or  become  dissatisfied  and  quit,  and  the  whole  outfit  was  tied  up. 
Then,  to  cap  it  all,  one  of  the  most  fearful  snow  storms  of  the  season 
came  and  blocked  the  road  so  we  could  not  get  the  electric  drills  up,  even 
though  we  had  sold  our  home  for  money  with  which  to  buy  them  (and 
they  never  were  installed).  I  got  the  teamsters  back  and  we  began 
operations  again,  the  best  we  could.  I  wrote  to  Morse  that  we  could  not 
possibly  make  a  success  of  the  thing  in  the  way  we  were  working  it,  and 
that  we  had  better  shut  it  down.  We  could  not  "let  go,"  especially  at 
that  season  of  the  year,  and  must  keep  up  appearances.  We  kept  on 
until  April  1st,  or  a  Httle  after,  losing  about  $10  for  every  one  we  were 
making.  You  could  take  a  candle  and  go  into  the  drift  and  see  the  gold 
with  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  we  could  not  make  it  pay.  The  "run"  that 
we  had  made  did  not  come  up  to  our  expectations.  We  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  We  thought  we  might  be  able  to  sell  some  shares  at  a  low 
price  and  put  in  an  aerial  tram  and  this  would  help  to  make  a  success, 
in  fact,  would  make  one.  When  I  got  back  to  Dillon,  Morse  happened  to 
meet  me  and  we  sat  down  and  had  a  long  "medicine  talk."     J.  E.  said: 


TUB  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  143 

"Al  Noyes,  if  any  one  had  told  me  eight  or  nine  months  ago  that  you 
and  I  would  be  doing  business  now,  I  would  not  have  believed  it."  We 
sat  there  for  hours,  planning  what  we  could  do.  His  outside  interests, 
sheep  and  Birchdale  ranch,  was  helping  him  to  keep  up  and  there  was  a 
prospect  of  selling  the  Birchdale  and  Mantle  ranches  for  enough  money 
to  put  him  on  easy  street.  Not  one  thing  appeared  on  the  horizon  to  help 
"mother"  and  me.  Unless  the  Ajax  did  pay,  we  could  not  see  our  way  out. 
We  had  played  for  big  stakes  and  the  cards  seemed  to  run  against  us. 
We  had  sold  the  Wisdom  Mercantile  company,  we  had  sold  our  Dillon 
property,  and  all  had  gone  into  the  maw  of  the  Ajax.  We  proposed  to 
give  Morse  all  our  interest  in  ranch  and  mine  and  walk  off  if  he  would 
pay  the  debts.  He  did  not  accept  the  offer,  as  he  said  he  did  not  see 
how  he  would  be  any  better  off  without  than  with  us.  So  we  agreed  to 
stay  and  do  the  best  we  could. 

In  the  meantime.  Colonel  Price  had  been  in  the  east  selling  and 
trying  to  sell  stock  in  the  mine.  He  sent  us  several  dollars  that  came  at  an 
opportune  time.  He  was  from  home  thirteen  months  and  made  a  sacrifice 
of  his  own  business  to  help  us.  For  some  reason,  I  could  not  give  up  the 
thought  that  the  mine  could  be  made  to  pay.  I  wanted  some  development 
work  done  and  let  a  contract  to  Jack  Walker,  a  former  tool  sharpener  of 
the  mine,  and  a  friend  of  his.  They,  in  fact,  took  a  lease  on  the  mine  and 
we  were  to  start  up  the  mill.  They  ran  a  cross-cut  and  found  a  nice 
body  of  galena  ore.  They  also  stoped  quite  a  lot  between  No.  1  and  No. 
2  tunnels.  Something  happened  so  we  did  not  start  the  mill  that  season,  so 
we  paid  the  boys  for  the  work  done.  We  did  quite  a  lot  of  representing 
on  some  claims,  extensions  of  the  Ajax,  on  the  Idaho  side  of  the  range, 
also  hired  Joe  Matt  and  Emil  Klein  to  work  on  No.  4,  a  cross-cut  to 
strike  the  ore  at  the  lowest  exposed  place  on  the  vein.  These  men  put 
in  a  long,  lone  winter  and  spring,  at  this  work.  They  tapped  the  lead  at 
2 1  0  feet,  and  found  a  good  sized  body  of  low  grade  ore.  One  can  not 
get  an  idea  what  two  men  go  through  that  live,  as  they  did,  on  the  top  of 
a  mountain  range  when  the  snow  was  piled  up  about  the  cabin  so  that  the 
sunlight  would  be  excluded  for  days  at  a  time,  and  when  the  roads  were 
impassable  to  any  one  except  with  snow  shoes.  These  two  men  were 
good  workers.  They  were  particular  friends  when  they  began,  and  when 
they  quit,  bitter,  life-long  enemies.  They  would  work  all  day,  go  to  the 
cabin  at  night,  get  their  meal  and  speak  no  word.  They  had  some 
reading  matter  that  they  conned  over  and  over  that  kept  them  from  going 
"bugs."  About  this  time  my  uncle,  Thos.  H.  Hamilton,  of  Horse  Prairie, 
died.  Owing  to  some  misunderstanding  he  had  had  with  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Addie  Smyington  of  Long  Beach,  Cal.,  he  gave  her  but  one  dollar, 
the  remainder  of  his  property  he  left  to  his  wife,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Hamilton, 
my  mother's  sister.  I  had  not  been  able  to  get  money  with  which  to 
buy  cattle  to  feed  my  hay.  Governor  White  had  been  our  banker,  for 
our  stock  business,  but  owing  to  our  inability  to  make  good  m  the  mine,  he 
could  not  see  his  way  clear  to  continue  the  loans,  especially   as   I   owed 


144  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX' 

him  about  $13,000.  White  had  been  running  the  Highland  ranch,  a 
pieec  of  property  that  belonged  to  White,  Norris,  Morse  and  myself.  He 
had  bought  up  quite  a  lot  of  young  steers  and  could  not  sell  all,  so  needed 
some  place  to  winter  those  not  saleable.  The  governor  has  always  been 
a  man  that  has  obtained  a  large  amount  of  information  either  at  first 
or  second  hand.  He  was  always,  in  my  day,  asking  questions  of  one's 
neighbors  as  to  the  exact  condition  of  one's  ranch  and  business,  so  far 
as  said  neighbor  might  know  or  guess.  This  particular  fall  he  was  to 
go  to  the  Highland,  deliver  some  cattle  to  people  to  whom  he  had  sold 
and  then  try  and  find  a  place  for  the  rest.  As  I  had  lots  of  hay  I  in- 
vited him  over.  As  he  was  sitting  conversing  with  me  on  different  things 
pertaining  to  our  business,  he  said:     "How  many  cattle  have  you,  Noyes?" 

"About  650  head,"  was  my  reply.     "Why,  I  asked  when  I 

was  coming  in  the  other  day  and  he  said  you  had  about  350  head." 
"Well,  Governor,  may  be  that  is  all  we  have.  Some  of  my  neighbors 
have  always  known  a  damn  sight  more  about  my  business  than  I  have 
myself.      We   will    call    it    350    head,"    I    said.      "They    also   tell    me, 

Jake  ,  for  instance,  that  your  cattle  are  run  down,  inbred ;  that 

you  have  not  been  caring  for  them  lately;  how  is  that?"  By  this  time  I 
was  pretty  warm  in  the  collar  and  replied  that  that  was  so;  that  the 
stuff  was  actually  no  good,  but  that  I  could  not  help  myself.  "You  say 
that  you  want  to  feed  some  of  my  cattle,  Noyes.  I  don't  see  where  you 
would  have  pasture  for  them  if  you  have  some  of  your  own  and  also 
some  of  Morse's  in  your  field  now,  and  you  know  the  stuff  must  be 
moved,  as  the  grass  is  no  good  on  the  Highland,"  he  said. 

I  had  a  very  fine  span  of  buggy  horses,  Paddy  and  Dewey,  also  a 
top  buggy,  so  I  said.  "Governor,  would  you  like  to  take  a  ride  down  in 
our  field  and  see  the  actual  conditions,  so  that  you  need  not  depend  on 
hearsay?"  "Yes,"  he  said.  I  got  the  team  and  we  drove  to  the  fields. 
Here  and  there  were  beautiful  whiteface  cows  with  calves,  big,  wide  and 
fat  as  butter,  perfect  pictures.  "Say,  Noyes,  why  don't  you  sell  that  fat 
cow?"  he  would  ask.  "Why,  Governor,  that  cow  is  suckling  a  calf 
just  now  and  I  don't  like  to  let  her  go,"  I  replied.  "You  don't  tell 
me  that  that  big  calf,  a  yearling  I  would  call  it,  is  sucking  do  you?" 
"Yes,  Governor,"  I  replied,  "that  is  one  of  those  'inbred'  calves  that  are 
no  good"  The  old  gentleman  looked  through  the  herd  and  about  the 
fields  where  acres  and  acres  of  fine  grass  was  standing,  and  then  he 
said:  "Noyes,  you  have  a  much  more  valuable  ranch  than  I  supposed. 
Why,  you  could  pasture  2,000  more  stock  than  you  have  now  until 
Christmas,  couldn't  you?"  "Yes,  Governor,  I  can.  What  do  you 
think  of  the  'inbreds'?"  He  replied  that  he  had  never  seen  as  nice  a 
bunch  of  cattle  any  place  before.  The  long  and  short  of  it  was,  he 
gave  me  a  bunch  of  steers  to  feed  that  winter.  As  stated  before,  Hamil- 
ton only  left  one  dollar  to  Addie,  so  she  proceeded  to  bring  suit  to  break 
the  will.  As  it  was  necessary  for  my  aunt  to  go  to  Los  Angeles,  in  order 
to  get  some  required  information,   she  requested  me  to  go  with  her,   she 


.\ 


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^f%ifK.j 


WHITEFACE 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  145 

to  pay  my  expenses.  I  agreed  to  go,  but  did  not  have  a  cent  that  I  could 
use  for  incidentals,  so  asked  my  brother  Will  for  $  1 00,  which  he  gave 
me,  although  it  was  about  all  he  had.  We  made  the  trip  in  February  and 
I,  in  a  way,  enjoyed  myself,  as  the  change  from  32  below  at  Wisdom  to 
the  orange-scented  groves  of  southern  California  was  exceedingly  marked. 
"Mother"  went  to  Dillon  and  stayed  with  some  friends,  while  Jakey  Louk 
took  charge  of  the  ranch  in  my  absence,  with  my  old  friend,  Bob  Mc- 
GDnnell,  as  cook.  Jake  had  Joe  Matt  and  Fred  Kyle  as  assistants.  We 
gathered  all  the  information  needed  in  the  case  and  later  on  it  was 
settled  out  of  court  by  my  aunt  giving  Addie  $3,000.  Soon  after  I  got 
back  I  received  a  letter  from  the  governor,  saying  he  would  like  to  have 
me  make  a  payment  on  the  account.  I  was  not  at  all  particular  to 
continue  business  along  such  lines,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  sell  the  White 
Faces  and  pay  the  governor.  I  happened  to  meet  my  old  friend,  Joe 
Toomey,  the  next  time  I  went  to  Wisdom  and  in  a  conversation  with  him 
I  expressed  a  wish  to  sell  our  cattle.  "Why,  you  don't  mean  that  you 
want  to  sell  your  White  Faces,  do  you,  Al?"  he  asked.  "Just  exactly 
what  I  want  to  do,  Joe,"  I  replied.  "Well,  if  that's  the  case,"  he  said, 
"I  can  soon  find  a  buyer  for  you.  Walker  will  take  them  in  a  hurry." 
D.  D.  Walker  soon  hunted  me  up  and  asked  if  I  really  wanted  to  sell 
the  cattle.  I  replied  that  I  did,  and  he  made  an  appointment  with  me 
to  look  them  over. 

To  those  who  have  no  sentiment,  the  fact  of  disposing  of  a  herd 
of  cattle  would  have  no  terror.  To  me,  a  person  full  of  sentiment,  there 
was  an  ache,  a  pain  so  full  and  deeply  felt  that  it  was  excruciating.  I 
had  built  up,  worked  for  and  with  that  bunch  of  cattle  until  I  knew  them 
all.  They  were  pets  and  it  was  my  hobby  to  have  a  fine  bunch  of 
cattle.  But  when  the  banker  calls  for  his  bond  to  be  fulfilled,  for  his 
pound  of  flesh,  no  matter  if  it  be  next  the  heart,  you  must  meet  his  call. 
Walker  bought  the  cattle  and  afterward  told  Strowbridge  that  they  were 
the  nicest  herd  of  cattle  he  had  ever  seen  in  one  large  bunch  in  his  life. 
(Poor  D.  D.  soon  after  died  and  never  got  any  personal  benefit  out  of 
his  purchase).  I  called  on  the  governor  and  paid  him  in  full,  and  told 
him  that  I  did  not  want  any  more  of  his  money  to  do  business  on  if  I 
had   to   dance   to   his   music. 

I  wrote  a  letter  to  E.  J.  Bowman  of  the  Daly  Bank  and  Trust  Co., 
Anaconda,  and  explained  that  I  wanted  money,  but  that  unless  he  could 
carry  us  for  $20,000.00  to  $30,000.00  he  needn't  answer  the  communi- 
cation. A  few  days  brought  a  reply  from  him,  saying:  "I  guess  we  can 
fix  the  matter  all  right;  come  down  and  see  me,  Noyes."  He  very  kindly 
let  me  have  what  money  I  needed,  and  I  went  to  Salmon  and  purchased 
twelve  to  fourteen  hundred  head  of  cattle  from  Edwards.  Shoup  and 
others.  These  cattle  were  bought  right,  but  even  then  they  did  not  make 
much  money.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  the  Ajax  once  more,  so  after  the 
haying  was  done  in  1905,  I  got  Tom  Landers  to  run  the  mill  and  with  a 
small  force  to  get  the  ore  down,  we  began.     Mrs.  Noyes  would  go  up  and 


146  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

do  the  cooking  at  the  mill  while  I  would  assume  general  supervision  of  the 
whole  outfit.  The  weather  was  anything  but  agreeable  at  that  season  of 
the  year.  I  wished  to  get  ore  from  all  the  tunnels,  2,  3  and  4.  It  was 
surely  heart-breaking  work,  but  the  men  went  up  against  the  blizzards 
without  a  murmur.  We  must  have  been  up  there  at  least  six  weeks  before 
we  made  our  clean-up,  though  we  were  not  running  the  mill  all  the  time. 
Our  "brick"  was  worth  about  $1  160.00.  I  had  an  idea  that  it  would 
be  wise  to  sell  shares  for  121/2  cents,  until  we  could  raise  enough  to  put 
in  the  aerial  tramway.  I  went  to  Butte  and  happened  into  the  office  of 
Jno.  F.  Forbis,  to  whom  I  showed  the  result  of  our  last  run.  Fred  Green, 
a  well  known  engineer,  who  had  seen  the  property,  was  called  in  and  gave 
John  a  very  encouraging  report  as  to  what  he  had  seen.  John  called  in 
some  of  the  other  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Amalgamated  company, 
also  Geo.  Casey,  and  made  me  a  statement  as  to  what  they  would  do. 
This  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Morse  and  myself,  and  Tom  Landers  was 
engaged  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  stuff 
from  Butte  to  the  Ajax  mine  late  in  the  fall  or  early  winter.  We  made 
up  our  minds  to  expend  part  of  the  money  in  the  erection  of  a  telephone 
line  from  the  ranch  house  to  mine.  This  was  not  an  easy  thing  by  any 
means,  as  part  of  it  had  to  be  constructed  through  thick  timber  with  the 
snow  almost  up  to  the  middle.  The  line  was  finished  about  Christmas  and 
the  men  were  ready  to  commence  on  No.  4.  Work  progressed  as  rapidly 
as  one  could  expect  when  the  snow  slides,  storms,  etc.,  were  to  be  taken 
into  consideration.  Mrs.  Landers  and  her  two  little  girls  took  charge  of 
the  kitchen  and  put  in  all  of  that  long  winter,  and  could  not  get  out  until 
spring.  The  'phone  was  a  means  of  making  the  place  less  lonely  than 
it  had  ever  been  before.  The  ore  encountered  did  not  satisfy  the  people 
whom  Mr.  Forbis  had  taken  in  and  as  soon  as  the  money  was  expended 
the  mine  closed  down.  This  was  to  be  the  last  act,  so  far  as  I  was 
concerned,  in  trying  to  do  anything  with  the  Ajax. 

We  had  the  Ajax  ranch  and  we  had  too  many  debts.  The  load  was 
more  than  I  wanted  to  carry,  and  I  was  anxious  to  free  myself  of  part  of 
it,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  sell  if  I  could  find  a  buyer.  We  did  not 
appear  to  be  able  to  get  any  one  to  take  the  whole  thing,  so  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  sell  the  lower  end  of  it,  or  1,748  acres.  I  found  in  Wm. 
Montgomery  the  man  I  was  hunting  for,  and  sold  for  eleven  dollars  per 
acre.  This  was,  no  doubt,  foolish,  but,  given  the  same  conditions,  I  would 
do  the  same  thing.  Mr.  Morse  did  not  take  kindly  to  this  change  in  our 
business,  but  did  not  object  seriously.  We  purchased  the  Tom  Low  place 
and  continued  together  until  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  make  a  turn  in 
one  of  his  ranch  deals  that  placed  him  so  far  ahead  of  that  hydra-headed 
monster,  debt,  that  he  had  no  objection  when  I  again  approached  him 
with  the  proposition  that  he  should  take  all  and  pay  all,  and  that  I  would 
begin  once  more  at  the  lower  round  of  the  ladder. 

It  was  on  the  28th  day  of  May,  1 907,  that  I  sold  Will  Montgomery 
the  "Heart"  of  the  Ajax  ranch,  twenty-five  years,  to  a  day,  since  I  had 


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THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX-  147 

come  to  the  valley.  Those  twenty-five  years  had  meant  much  to  me.  They 
had  carried  all  of  hope,  all  of  success,  at  last  a  dismal  failure.  Out  into 
the  world  with  nothing  to  do  with  and  with  hardly  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment. Is  it  any  wonder  that  it  struck  a  note  of  discord  in  a  nature  once  so 
optimistic;  that  it  made  me  feel  that  man  is  nothing,  no  matter  how  he  may 
have  lived,  when  the  check  book  has  lost  its  cunning  and  the  dollars  have 
taken  wings  and  flown  away?  And  the  Dream?  All  the  years  I  must 
have  been  walking  in  my  sleep  to  awake  and  find  it  had  all  been  a  foolish 
nightmare.  And  again  I  see,  as  in  a  dream,  the  grand  old  mouatain 
peaks  that  hold  deep  down  beneath  their  frozen  forms  the  gold  I  tiuntcd 
for,  the  wealth  I  sought.  They  stand  as  monuments  to  mark  the  spot  of 
my  dead  hopes. 
Farewell. 

A  Little  Big  Hole  History. 

Captain  Clark  and  party  passed  through  in  1 806,  and  called  it 
Hot  Spring  valley,  on  account  of  the  spring  on  Warm  Spring  creek. 
They  gave  as  full  a  description  as  has  ever  been  written  of  the  place. 
They  ate  their  dinner  where  Jackson  is,  July  7th.  It  would  only  be 
conjecture  to  say  that  Bonneville  ever  saw  the  valley.  It  is  too  bad  that 
we  do  not  know  the  exact  date  when  Emanuel  Martin,  the  Mexican,  first 
passed  through  the  Big  Hole.  Judge  Woody  says  that  it  was  between 
1850  and  1854.  This  man  took  the  first  wagon  to  the  Bitter  Root  and 
went  there  via  the  "Big  Hole  Prairie,"  as  the  place  was  then  called.  That 
the  section  was  called  Big  Hole  only  goes  to  prove  that  trappers  must 
have  been  there  before  Martin  and  after  Clark.  The  road  was  on  the 
west  side  of  the  valley.  It  is  unfortunate  for  us  that  the  trappers  did  not 
keep  any  record  or  diary. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Van  Etton  went  through  the  valley  in  1856. 
He  had  two  ox  teams  and  was  on  his  way  from  Utah  to  Bitter  Root.  With 
him  came  Judge  Frank  H.  Woody  of  Missoula,  and  Robert  Hereford, 
the  first  assessor  of  Lewis  &  Clark  county,  a  man  well  known  in  Alder 
gulch  in  early  days.  In  my  quest  for  early  history  of  "Big  Hole 
Prairie,"  I  find  that  Lieut.  Mullan  was  there  Dec.  4th  and  5th,  1853, 
and  passed  over  into  the  Grasshopper  valley,  "by  an  excellent  wagon 
road."  He  made  a  note  that  the  west  side  of  the  Big  Hole  was  covered 
with  six  inches  of  snow  while  there  was  none  on  the  east.  I  have  also 
found  out  that  Dr.  Click  was  the  first  doctor  probably  ever  in  the 
valley,  as  he  mined  in  Pioneer  for  a  short  time,  just  before  Bannack  was 
struck  in  1  862. 

Mike  Steele  told  me  that  a  man  by  the  name  of  Woods  discovered 
gold  in  Pioneer,  or  Ruby  as  it  is  called  now,  in  1862,  before  Bannack  was 
found.  Granville  Stuart  says:  "Jack  Slack  and  party  came  via  the 
north  fork  of  the  Salmon  and  made  the  first  discovery  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Beaverhead  county."  I  have  been  told  that  the  use  of  the  name 
"Jack  Slack"  was  only  another  way  of  saying  "we  do  not  know,"  or  a 


148  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

myth,  in  fact.  French  was  discovered  in  1865.  In  August,  1869,  Mike 
Steele,  Ed  Boyle  and  Barney  McDonnell  found  pay  on  Steele  creek  and 
began  to  mine.  Doolittle,  a  squaw  man,  had  a  cabin  in  the  early  '70's  on 
Doolittle  creek.  He  had  a  few  head  of  cattle,  but  did  not  become  a  per- 
manent settler.  Cattlemen  from  Deer  Lodge,  Beaverhead  and  Horse 
Prairie  valleys  used  the  Big  Hole  as  early  as  I  874  for  summer  pasture. 
Battle  of  the  Big  Hole,  August  9,  1877.  1880,  Chase,  Hammer  and 
the  Barker  brothers  put  up  hay  for  Joe  Ketchen,  no  doubt  the  beginning 
of  actual  settlement  of  the  valley.  That  same  season  the  Williams 
brothers,  old  freighters,  cut  hay  on  what  is  now  called  "Squaw  creek." 
This  creek  was  called  "Jurd's  creek"  for  one  of  the  brothers.  The  real 
Squaw  creek  is  the  one  afterward  settled  on  by  Geo.  Mudd,  and  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river.  The  Gregson  brothers  of  Gregson  Springs  put 
up  hay  for  their  cattle  that  same  fall,  and  Phil  Evans,  father  of  Con- 
gressman Jno.  M.  Evans,  put  up  hay  and  sent  in  a  band  of  sheep,  the 
first  sheep  in  the  Big  Hole,  in  care  of  Nat  Evans.  This  man,  Nat 
Evans,  was  one  of  the  riders  in  the  great  long  distance  race  run  in  Deer 
Lodge  in  1870  between  Col.  Thornton's  "Bay  Billy"  and  Hank  Val- 
iton's  "Lizzard."  This  race  was  for  60  miles,  won  by  the  Lizzard  in 
a  little  over  four  hours.  Williams  Bros.,  Evans  and  the  Gregsons 
got  enough  of  the  valley,  or  its  long  winter,  the  first  year  and  pulled  out, 
never  to  return. 

As  the  Barker  brothers  were  only  in  on  the  Ketchen  hay  in   I  880, 

they  did  not  come  back,  but  Chase,  Jake  Hammer  and  Milton  Jones  cut 

hay  in    1 88 1 ,   and   Allen   Pierse   undertook   to   run   sheep.      David   Law 

was  in  care  of  the  band.     Allen  pulled  out  as  he  did  not  consider  it  a  good 

place  for  sheep  business.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Woods  lived  in  the  valley 

in    1881,    or   stayed,    rather,    during   the   winter,    as    "Jim"    was    feeding 

cattle  for  James  Maxwell.     Jake  Hammer,  Milton  Jones,  Jared  Chase  and 

E.  O.  Packard  put  in  the  winter  of   1881-2.     A.  J.   Noyes  and  Hattie 

M.  Noyes  settled  where  the  town  of  Wisdom  is,  June   1st,   1882.     Wm. 

Frasier  and  family  came  about  June  1  0th,   1  882.     Chase,  Jake  Hammer, 

Milton   Jones   and    Blake    Hammer   cut    ties   north   of    Doolittle   creek   in 

1 882.      They   were  driven   to   Divide   on   the   river.      Jas.   Geery,    Frank 

Dixon,  Geo.  Smith,  James  Innis  and  Alf  McVey  settled  below  Wisdom 

in    1 882,   probably  latter  part  of   May.      Mrs.    McVey  was  with   them. 

Oscar   and   Earl   were   then   little   fellows.      I   really   believe   that   "Mc." 

brought  the  first  pigs  ever  seen  in  the  valley,   and  traded  them  to  A.  J. 

Noyes  for  a  little  cook  stove. 

Myers  and  Wilke  lived  on  Steel  creek  winter  of  1  882-3.  Fred  had 
been  prospecting  in  that  section  in  1 880  and  saw  lumber  that  Steele, 
Boyle  and  McDonnell  whip-sawed  in  1869.  They  were  at  Ed  Shoe- 
maker's cabin  when  he  accidentally  shot  himself  while  hunting;  he  was 
crossing  some  thin  ice  and  using  the  butt  of  his  gun  to  test  it,  the  gun 
broke  through  and  shot  him  through  the  side.  Wilke  was  with  him  when 
he  died,  Myers  had  gone  to  Noyes'  ranch  for  S.  E.  Packard, 


THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX"  149 

David  Wraton,  family,  and  Douglas  Vance,  came  in  in  1 883  and 
settled  on  Steele  creek,  from  which  place  they  soon  moved  to  the  river 
and  took  up  land  afterward  owned  by  Jno.  Paddock  and  Fred  Frances. 
B.  O.  Fournier  located  at  Warm  Springs  in  1884.  The  town  of  Jack- 
son was  afterward  laid  out  in  land  he  took  up.  George  Thompson  and 
family  came  in  early  in  1  884.  In  July,  1  884,  Herman  Jackson,  Antone 
Jackson,  for  whom  the  town  of  Jackson  is  named,  and  A.  Paulson,  a 
brother-in-law  of  the  Jackson's,  settled  on  the  river  below  McVey  creek 
on  land  afterward  sold  to  Mallory,  Bielenberg  and  Walker.  The  Jack- 
sons  located  land,  after  they  sold  out  to  the  above  named  company,  on 
Bloody  Dick,  which  they  sold  to  the  Horse  Prairie  Herding  Association, 
when  they  made  a  more  satisfactory  move  to  land  near  Warm  Springs 
creek.  Anton  Jackson  was  the  first  postmaster  at  Jackson,  hence  name 
of   town. 

Capt.  W.  W.  Bentley  and  wife  came  in  spring  of  1 884,  and 
settled  just  south  of  Matt  Waldherr.  Ben  Hamby  and  family  came  to 
the  valley  that  year.  Ben  was  killed  by  a  bear  some  years  after,  near 
the  upper  end  of  the  Big  Hole.  J.  C.  Paddock  and  C.  W.  Frances 
landed  in  the  valley  May  25th,  1884,  and  John  had  the  first  violin. 
"Grandpa"  W.  W.  Frances  and  wife  came  soon  after.  Postoffice  was 
established  at  Geery's  ranch  in  August,  and  Harrison  Churchill,  our 
first  mail  contractor,  was  ordered  to  start  September  1  st,   1  884. 

I  do  not  want  to  forget  my  old  friend  Billy  Ryan,  who  was  one  of 
the  boys  with  Gibbon  in  ^11,  and  who  had  his  gun  shot  out  of  his  hand 
in  that  engagement.  Bill  had  been  mining  in  old  Pioneer  for  years, 
before  he  made  up  his  mind  to  locate  land  in  the  valley,  when  he  lo- 
cated what  is  now  Jahnke  place,  if  I  am  not  mistaken.  Frank  LeMasters, 
Jerry  Merrett,  Jno.  Knight  and  a  Mr.  Irwin  located  above  Capt.  Bent- 
ley's,  but  did  not  stay  long.  The  Wright  Bros.,  Jno.  Frank  and  Ed, 
located  on  land  near  what  is  now  the  Montgomery  bridge  the  summer  of 
1883.  September,  1884,  James  Innis,  Frank  Dixon,  David  Law, 
Ethelridge,  Nels  Johnson  and  A.  J.  Noyes  built  the  first  grade  around 
Twin  Crossings.  Harry  Freyschlag  located  in  the  valley  on  what  was 
afterward  the  Stanley  ranch,  in  '84,  but  soon  moved  to  the  river  on  land 
now  owned  by  Geo.  Woodworth.  Al.  G.  Stanley  came  in  about  the 
same  time. 

First  election,  November  4th,  1884;  James  Geery,  Justice  of  the 
Peace;  Quitman  Owen,  Constable;  James  Innis,  Road  Supervisor.  First 
school  trustees,  James  Geery,  Wm.  Frazier.  Alf  McVey.  No  school 
during  their  term  of  office.  Geo.  Woodworth,  wife  and  son.  Fred, 
came  in  1885.  Fred  Frances  and  Ed  Brown  located  in  1885  on  Sheep 
creek.  Fred  was,  no  doubt,  the  most  successful  big  game  hunter  we 
ever  had  in  the  valley.  Jno.  Wampler  came  with  his  family  in  Novem- 
ber, 1885.  He  was  taken  sick  on  the  way  in  and  died  at  Noyes'  place 
and  was  buried  near  the  little  lake  just  below  Wisdom.  Wm.  and 
James    Montgomery,     Ihos.    Low    and    Frank    Pendleton    located    in    the 


150  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

valley  in  1  885  and  began  the  most  successful  ranch  property,  or  one  that 
has  been  built  up,  under  the  management  of  Will  Montgomery,  to  become 
the  largest  feeding  plant  for  the  feeding  of  beef  cattle,  on  wild  hay, 
probably  in  th  world. 

Will  Armitage,  wife  and  two  children,  came  to  the  valley  in  1  886 
and  located  near  Wisdom.  Flem  Wampler,  wife  and  children  came 
about  the  same  time  and  located  on  Sheep  creek,  afterward  to  move  to 
the  lake  near  the  town.  W.  B.  Stanchfield  and  family  settled  near  Big 
Swamp  creek  the  fall  of  1  886.  First  school,  by  Miss  Blodgett,  summer  of 
1 885 ;  trustees,  David  Wraton,  Jas.  Batterton  and  Geo.  Woodworth. 
First  postmaster,  Jas.  Geery ;  first  justice  of  the  peace,  Jas.  Geery. 

I  have  not  the  exact  dates  to  hand,  but  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
may  desire  to  get  the  information,  will  give  a  list  of  the  first  things  in  the 
Big  Hole:  Blacksmith  shop,  Noyes'  ranch;  Wm.  Packard.  Will  Pack- 
ard was  a  mighty  nice  fellow,  my  first  partner  in  the  ranching  business; 
he  came  in  in  1 882.  First  dance,  Noyes',  Thanksgiving  Night,  1 884. 
First  grain,  wheat  and  oats,  Geo.  Woodworth.  First  Literary  Society, 
Woodworth's.  First  store,  J.  D.  Fox  and  sons.  First  bridge  built  over 
Big  Hole,  above  Dewey's  in  1  886,  near  Wisdom  by  Al  Noyes,  Will  A. 
Armitage,  Watt  Maloney  and  Flem  Wampler.  First  telephones  brought 
into  the  valley  by  A.  J.  Noyes;  as  Noyes  did  not  use  them,  Geo.  Wood- 
worth  did,  and  built  the  line  from  his  ranch,  the  C — D,  to  Wisdom, 
First  newspaper,  "Big  Hole  Breezes."  First  death,  Edward  Shoemaker, 
who  was  buried  near  the  Montgomery  bridge.  First  doctor  was  Dr. 
Treacy,  in  1885,  to  see  Jno.  Wampler.  First  surveyor,  James  Batterton. 
First  civil  engineer  and  United  States  land  commissioner,  B.  R.  Stevenson. 
First  quartz  mine  developed,  Ajax.  First  quartz  mill  on  the  Ajax.  First 
saw  mill,  W.  W.  Frances  and  Sons.  First  organ,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Noyes, 
1883.  First  piano,  W.  B.  Stanchfield,  1887.  First  Fourth  of  July 
oration.  Rev.  R.  P.  Smith.  First  sermon.  Revs.  Tait  and  Bennett,  in 
old  log  school  house,  near  Fred  Frances,  one  one-fourth  miles  south  of 
Wisdom.  First  minister  to  locate,  a  Mr.  Edmonton,  of  the  M.  E.  church. 
First  drug  store.  Dr.  McNevin.  First  store  at  Wisdom,  Emil  Zorn  and 
Mrs.  Hattie  M.  Noyes.  First  postmistress  in  valley,  Mrs.  Hattie  M. 
Noyes,  at  Wisdom.  Mrs.  Noyes  was  the  "Mother  of  Wisdom,"  as  it 
was  on  her  land  the  town  was  located.  First  sheep,  I  880,  Phil  Evans  of 
Deer  Lodge.  First  child  born.  Gibbon  Frazier,  who  v/as  killed  in  the 
big  explosion  in  Butte.  First  girl  born,  Maud  Wraton,  in  I  884.  Died  in 
Dillon  when  not  more  than  two  years  of  age.  First  ranch  fenced,  Noyes 
and  Tong,  1 886.  First  irrigating  ditch  out  of  Spring  creek,  by  Matt 
Waldherr,  1 884 ;  out  of  Big  Hole  river,  A.  J.  Noyes,  May  1  st,  1 886. 
First  wedding  was  by  Judge  Geo.  Woodworth,  Miss  Grisald  was  lady,  but 
cannot  get  the  groom's  name.  First  county  commissioner,  Geo.  Wood- 
worth,  who  also  was  the  first  man  to  go  to  the  legislature  from  our  valley. 
First  assessor,  Al  Noyes.  First  doctor  to  settle  in  valley.  Dr.  Wentworth, 
said  to  have  been  a  relative  of  "Long  John"  Wentworth  of  Chicago.  This 


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THE  STORY  OF     AJAX"  151 

man  was  over  eighty  when  he  came  to  Big  Hole.  He  lived  on  the  old 
wagon  road  near  the  timber  on  Swamp  creek,  and  died  and  was  buried 
near  his  ranch,  now  (1914)  the  property  of  Willey  Bros.  O.  Willis 
was  the  first  assessor  to  come  into  the  valley,  which  was  in  1883.  Will 
Armitage  took  the  first  census  for  the  United  States  of  the  valley. 

General  Sherman  camped  near  Wisdom,  1884,  on  what  is  now 
J.  P.  Lossl's  ranch.  First  plow  used  in  making  the  Salt  Lake  company's 
ditch.  First  threshing  machine,  Clarence  H.  Strowbridge.  First  auto, 
C.  H.  Strowbridge.  First  1  00  head  of  steers  to  be  fed  for  beef,  1  883-4, 
by  Nick  Bielenberg;  260  tons  of  hay,  according  to  measurement,  in  hand 
pitched  stacks,  was  the  amount  fed;  they  were  put  on  feed  Christmas  day, 
1883,  and  started  for  Butte  April  25th,  1884.  First  spring  wagon  was 
owned  by  A.  J.  Noyes,  and  cost  $165.00.  First  building  on  platted 
ground  of  Wisdom,  J.  P.  Lossl's  stage  stable.  First  person  to  be  buried 
on  "Grave  Yard  on  the  Hill,"  Old  Mr.  Johnson,  Nels'  father.  First 
bath  tub,  given  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  J.  Noyes  by  friends  on  their  "Tin 
Anniversary."     First  piece  of  cement  side  walk,  by  Charlie  Bell. 

I  would  not  attempt  to  write  the  names  of  all  those  who  have  helped 
to  make  the  Big  Hole.  Our  old  friend  Barney  Hughes,  one  of  the 
discoverers  of  Alder,  and  Bob  McConnell,  one  of  the  "boys"  to  find  the 
Hecla  mines  on  Trapper  creek,  sleep  their  last  sleep  in  the  little  cemetery 
overlooking  the  valley.  Land  was  not  considered  very  valuable  until 
Dan  Burkholder  took  a  lot  of  options  for  J.  E.  Morse,  winter  of  1910-11. 
Dan  was  a  fellow  who  had  quite  a  lot  of  ideas  and  he  says  that  one  of 
them  was  to  get  options  and  then  get  a  man  with  whom  he  was  acquainted 
in  North  Dakota,  a  Mr.  Bloodgood,  to  come  and  exploit  the  matter. 
Anyway  Dan  did  get  about  52,000  acres  tied  up,  part  of  which  was 
later  taken  over  by  J.  E.  Morse  and  sold  to  other  parties.  Dan  was  quite  a 
rustler,  and  would  have,  had  he  had  money,  made  things  hard  to  catch. 

I  do  not  want  to  forget  my  old  friend  John  Anderson,  who  settled 
on  Fish  Trap  creek  in  those  early  days.  It  was  one  of  those  fortunate 
things  that  comes  into  a  fellow's  life,  the  settlement  of  Anderson.  Fortun- 
ate for  himself  as  well  as  those  of  us  that  needed  a  place  to  stay  on  our 
way  to  Butte.  If  I  was  to  close  this  little  story  without  giving  to 
"Grandpa"  and  "Grandma"  Frances  the  credit  due  them,  I  would  stand 
convicted  of  little  less  than  a  crime.  Wm.  Wallace  Frances  and  Mary, 
his  wife,  entered  the  valley  with  some  of  their  children  in  those  early 
days.  Their  tendency  was  to  build  up  and  make  better  every  one  with 
whom  they  came  in  contact.  Many  a  fevered  brow  felt  the  cool  hand  of 
"Grandma,"  and  many  a  young  man  would  do  well  to  follow  the  example 
of  "Grandpa."  To  him  should  be  given  credit  of  having  made  it  possi- 
ble to  erect  the  first  church  in  Wisdom.  He  never  stopped  the  fight  for 
this  work  until  it  was  completed,  and  it  is  something  that  his  children 
and  grandchildren  ought  to  remember  with  pride. 

While  this  is  going  to  press,  my  friends.  Alex  Ralston,  wife,  and 
Clarence  H.   Strowbridge,  were  killed  in  an  auto  accident  near  Ralston. 


152  THE  STORY  OF  "AJAX" 

These  three  people  were  as  fully  identified  in  the  up-building  of  the  Big 
Hole  as  any  other  three  persons.  This  sad  accident  took  place  on  French 
creek,  only  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  Ralston,  on  the  1  7th  day  of 
June,  1914.  No  more  impressive  funerals  ever  took  place  in  our  state 
owing  to  the  wide  acquaintances  of  the  parties.  They  were  loved  by  all 
who  knew  them. 

In  ending  this  little  story,  I  want  to  thank  many  of  my  friends  who 
have  given  me  words  of  encouragement  that  have  enabled  me  to  go  ahead 
with  it.  Among  others:  Goodwin  T.  Paul,  J.  C.  Smith,  Eugene  Poin- 
dexter  and  Mrs.  Martin  Barrett  of  Dillon,  Will  Armitage,  Charles,  Fred 
and  Dora  Frances,  Mrs.  Strowbridge  and,  not  the  least,  my  sister,  Maud 
(Mrs.  W.  A.  Armitage).  Judge  Pemberton,  librarian  of  the  State 
Historical  Society,  said:  "Make  no  excuses,  Noyes.  Go  ahead  and 
write  your  story."  Taking  his  advice,  I  shall  not  make  any  excuses  for 
offering  "The  Story  of  Ajax,"  which  is  a  story  of  Mrs.  Noyes  and 
myself.  Much  of  it  is  history  of  a  local  nature  and  will  be  of  interest 
to  those  who  will  live  in  the  little  valley  beneath  the  "Shining  mountains" 
long  after  we  who  made  the  fight  will  have  passed  over  the  Great  Divide. 


A.  J.  NOYES  (AJAX) 


INDEX 


Abascal.    Mrs.    Joaquin 41 

Alder    Gulch 8 

Alexander.    Sam 30 

Allen.    Frank    2J-110-114 

Allen.    Geo 44 

A   Mining    Story 1.30 

Anaconda    64 

Anaconda   Mine   55-117 

Anderson,    Al 101 

Anderson    Bros 78 

A   Pocket   Mine lb* 

Argenta    1 

Armitage.   J.  T 7G-  98 

Armitage.  W.   A.,  ..1-48-49-51-64-72-74 

Ayers,    Mae 62 

Ayers.    Nick 63 

Babbage,    Geo 5 

Bailard.    Geo 68-71-  81 

Baker  &  Harper 117 

Bannack 51-52-53-57-58-59-60-  02 

Barkell,  James 12 

Barkell.  Joseph  12 

Barkell,    Richard 12 

Barney     Hughes     Storv    of    Alder 

Gulch    * 8 

Barker,    Ed 58 

Earnhardt,    Milt 26 

Barrett,    Martin 27-  59 

Barrett,    Mrs.    Martin 152 

Barrett  &  Shincberger 9 

Bear   Paw    Mountains 5 

Beaverhead    County 58 

Beidler,    X 13 

Bell,    Chas 151 

Bennett,   Rev 1.50 

Bentley,  W.  W 62-149 

Bessette,    Amede 27 

Bielenberg.    N.    J 60 

"Big    4" 67 

Big    Hole 58-59-63 

Big  Hole  Basin 51 

Big    Hole    Divide .57 

Big   Hole   Battle   Field 59 

Big  Hole  River 57 

Bitter   Root 51-  55 

Blair,  W.  G 53 

Blair.   .Mrs.   W.  G 67 

Blivens,    Oha.«i 12 

Blivens,    Taylor 13 

Blodgett.    Miss M 

Bloodgood    151 


Blue    Dick 22-  25 

Bonneville.    Capt 58 

Boston    12G 

Boundary    Line    Survey 69 

Bowman.   E.   J 145 

Boyle,    Ed    58 

Brenner.    J.    C 27 

Broadwater  &  Pitt 87 

Broughton,   A.   L 70 

Broughton,   Almira  16-  68 

Brown.    Ed 87 

Brown,   Frank 72-9.3-112 

Brown,   L.   A 68-119 

Buck,    Amos 49 

Buck,  0.  M 43 

Buck.    Minnie 46 

Buffalo    Hump 53 

Buggy,  Tom 93-  99 

Burgess,  Mrs.  J 62 

Butcher,  Miss  Emma  33 

Butte 51-52-56-58-59-60-32-  63 

Butte    School.    1876 24 

Butte  Volunteers.  Co.  "A" 28 

Buy  Hamilton  Horses 75 

Cache   Valley    19 

Caldwell.  B\ank  64 

Callen.   Jas 52-  74 

Cameron.    Dan 5 

Campbell,    Gr«en 12 

Camipbell.  Joe 27 

Campbell.    .Mrs 14 

Camp  on   Red   Rock 20 

Cantata    Esther 47 

Carmichael.  Alex  13 

Canick.  Jas 11 

Carson.    Mrs .^ 44 

Carter.  T.   H 22-  67 

Cavannaugh,    M 46 

Chapman.    Dan    62 

Chase    and    Hammer 52-58-  59 

Chanvin,  Jos ()9 

Claggett,  W.  H 67 

Chief  Jo.seph  28-  36 

Clark.    H.    S 45 

Chirk,  J.   R 27 

Clark,  \V.  A 2:^-2S-.30-;n -32-31- 

35-61-5t>-67-89- 100-102- 11 7 

Clearwater  ... .► 16 

Col)i)in,  Fy<i  23 

(Joeur     d'Alene Bl 

Cooiwr,  Alex  S9 


154 


INDEX 


Comanche  and  Minnie  Healey,  once 

the  "Lizzie  Ellen" 27 

Conger,    Judge    E.    J 73 

Conway,   Frank   80 

Cottrell,  John  62-  64 

Could  have  sold  for  $36,000 77 

Cow  Creek  57 

Criskey,  Geo — ^... 55 

Crossing  of  Little  Muddy  5 

Cunnard,   Finley   68 

Curious   Mounds   3 

Curtis,  Frank  135 

Dahlonega  Creek  58 

Daly,  Marcus  23-55-89-90-117 

Daly,  Mrs.   M 140 

Dart,    Geo.    W 27-  53 

Davidson,   M.   L 101 

Davidson,   Ralph 75 

Davis  and  Jones  53 

Dead  Man  at  Sun  River 5 

Dean,  Ike  21 

Death  of  Mother 14 

Deer  Lodge  49-  53 

Dempsey,  Pat  ~ 10-  27 

Dewey's    57 

DeWitt,  W.  H 43-  49 

DeWolfe,  Stephen  50 

Dickerson,    Wm 70 

Dickey   Bridge  57 

Dillon    53-61-  62 

Divide  52 

Dixon,  Frank  54 

Dodge,  Jos 3 

Donay,   Albert   ..._ 112 

Doolittle  Creek  51-  54 

Douglass,    Schoolteacher  11 

Downs,  John  31 

Drag  of  Horse  Prairie  Cattle  Herd  59 

Ducharme,  Geo 114 

Dunton,  Willard  64 

Earl,  Mr 75 

Eaton,  R.  P 85 

Edgerton's,  Gov.  Jtdouse  87 

Edmonton,    Rev 150 

Edwards,    Wm 64 

Edwards   and   Shoup   145 

Eleven   Miles  to   Bannack 6 

Eliel,   Leonard  SI 

Elk  Park  56 

Ellingwood,    Mr „ 92 

Ellis,  Owen  81-  82 

English,  Mrs 34 

English,   Lieut   Wm 34 

Esler,  A.  M 14 

Evans,    Morgan    69 

Evans,  Nat  P 28 

Everett.  Chas.   D.  12-  87 

Experts,  Who  Saw  the  Ajax  114 

Fahey,    Jerry   61 

Fairweather,  "Old  Bill"  7 

Fairweather,  Tom  7 

Farlin,  Wm 22 


Ferster,    Emma    53 

Ferster,    Rufe   6-27-  67 

Field,  Marshall  ...136 

Fight  at  Musselshell  15 

First  Assay  Ajax  100 

Fisher,  T.  W 140 

Fisk,  A.  J 4-     5 

Fisk,  J.  L 1-     3 

First  Buffalo  Killed  3 

First  Gold  Brick  115 

First  Hundred  Foot  Shaft  in  Butte  92 

First  Sunday   School,  Butte 25 

First  Visit  to  Butte 23 

First  Wagon  in  Big  Hole  147 

Flynn,   Martin  78 

1  olsom,  David  E 101 

I'olwell.  W.  W 17-  68 

Forbis   Family   25 

Forbis,  James  W 48-139 

Forbis,  John  F 27-48-  49 

Forbis,  W.  P 31-  32 

Ford.  Anson  27 

Fort  Abercrombie  3 

Fournier,  B.  0 59 

Fox,  J.  D 64 

Fox,   Montana  64 

Frances,   C.   W 62-149 

Frances,  Mrs.  C.  W 57 

Frances,  Fred  52-149 

Frances,  Mrs.  Fred  57 

Frances,  Grandma  83-151 

Frances,  W.  A 80 

Frances,  W.  W 64-149-151 

Franklin,  Idaho  19 

Eraser,  Gibbon  60 

Eraser,  Wm 54-  62 

French  Family  27 

French,  Geo 39 

French  Gulch  54 

Frohman,  Ben   61 

Fry,  Ohas 64 

Galbraith,   Judge   48-  49 

Galbraith,    Scott   113 

Gassert,  Harry  25-  26 

Geery,   Jas 54-  61 

Geery,  Robt 62 

Get  Money  to  Go  to  School  43 

Getting  Water  in  Dark  19 

Geyser  Party  46 

Ghost  of  the  Ajax   80 

Gibbon,  Gen.  John  33 

Gibbon  and  Clark  Conversation  on 

North  Fork  33 

Gibbon  and  Howard  on  Battlefield  36 

Gibbon's  Battlefield 64 

Gibbonsville,  Idaho,  51-53-58-  61 

Gilbert,  Wm 1-     2 

Gillette,  Louis  16 

Gillie,  John  27 

Gilmer  and  Salisbury  51 

Click,    Dr 118-147 

Goldsmith  Mine 27-61-  92 


INDEX 


155 


Good  Bunch  of  Young  People  4"! 

Goodrich.    Bill    6-  27 

Goodwin.  C.  C 3(J 

Gordon  &  Dodge  Horse  Trade  10 

Go  to  Los  Angeles  14." 

Graeter.    Al    10 

ijrraeter.  A.  t' 59 

Graham.  W.  H 114 

Grasshopper  Creek   59 

Graves,    F.    L 7-  27 

Gronn,  Geo.  .— 47-  02 

Hassell,  R.  B 43 

Hamby.  Ben  62 

Hamilton,  T.   H 64-143 

Hamilton's  Story  89 

Harvey.    Prof 15 

Hauswirth  Bros 23 

Heagle.  John  69 

Heap  Rain  19 

Heath.   Miss   15 

rieinze.  F.  Aug 71-117 

Helena    58-  63 

Henneberry,    Mickey    72 

Hennessey,   D.   J 21-  43 

Herding  Cows  on  Baldy 10 

Hereford,  Robt 147 

Herman,  Chas 51 

Hern,   Jay  68 

Hem,    Mrs.   Jay   57 

Hicks,  Jack  51-  61 

Highland  Water  Co 79-103 

Hineman,  Chas 1.3 

Historical  Society  58 

Homestake  Mine  57 

Hootman,  Jake  31 

Hopkins   98 

Horse    Prairie    59 

Horse  Prairie  Herding  Ass'n 55 

Hotel    d'Mineral    23 

Housel.   Frank  SO 

Howard.  Gen.  O.  0 34 

Howard,  "Old  Man"  39 

How  Bill  Owsley  Lost  $100  26 

How    Uncle    John    Bishop    Loaned 

His  First  Money   87 

How  Norris  Lost  His  Dinner  106 

Hubbard,  Widow  17 

Huggins,  Lieut 16 

Hughes,    Barney    8 

Humphrey,    Chastine   26 

Humphrey,  Mi.ss  Alice  23 

Hump.  The  16 

Hutchinson,  Fred  13 

Innis.  James  54 

In    Norristown    34 

Irvin,   Caleb   B 27-  63 

Irvin.  G.  W.  III.,  27 

Irwin.  James  29 

I  Talked  Too  Much  73 

In  the  Yellowstone  Park  44 

Jackson's  Hole  51 

Jack,  Shoots  Martin  96 


Jefferson    Valley    57 

Jeuks.  James  66 

Jeuks,  Sarah  16 

Johnson,  Alex  27 

Johnson.  Billy  6 

Johnson,  Nels  62 

Johnson,  Sam  , 27 

Jones,  Laurin  102 

Jones,    Wesley   22 

Joseph,  Chief  34 

Kanabe,  Prof 13 

Kanute,  Harry  110-140 

King,   Ed  33 

King,   Silas  F 98 

King  and  Slavin  13 

Kinnear.   W.  L 31-  43 

Kirkendall,   Hugh   33 

Kirkpatrick,    James    11 

Kitty,  My  Pony  9 

Klein.    Emil    143 

Knippenberg,  H 74-75-118 

Kohrs  and  Bielenberg 77 

Knowles,    H 50-  63 

Kornberg,   Gus  69 

Kritz,    John    l 

Kroft,   Valentine   26 

Kyle.    Fretl    145 

Landers,    Mrs 146 

Landers,    Tom    114-145 

Lane,  Old  Man  64 

Larabie,  Ed  S 22 

Largey,  Pat  _ 91 

Last   Brick   140 

Leave  for  Benton  114 

Lawrence,   Atwater  61-  92 

Lawrence,   Atwood    27 

Lawson,  Tom  13,5 

Leason.    Dr 74 

Lee.  Mary  Jane  3 

Letters  of  Introduction  127 

Lewis  and  Clark  53-58-61-  83 

Literary    Society   04 

Little  Charlie  149 

Little  Crow  o 

Lloyd.   Sheriff  _\  (59 

Los   Angeles,    Cal.,   51 

Lossl,   J.   P §0 

Ijouk,  Jake  110-145 

Lowery,  Mell  27-31-  3-> 

Major,  The  131 

-Mallory,   James   72 

Malonoy.    Watt    62-64 

iUantlc,  Lee  "    27 

Mantle,    Story    .."...!  102 

Alartin,  B>ank  "!"l3,s 

Martin.  Harvey  i:57-i:!!» 

Matt,  Jo.'  ll.'Ml.-, 

Mniu]  rain<'  t<i  .Montana  43 

May.   Geo ^9 

Mayhew,  Alex  E 50 

>!nyi:anl    Bros 140 

AJcAf.'.',  Mr '"'"'ZZZ  65 


156 


INDEX 


McAuliff.  "Bis  Jack"  Ii9 

McBuraev  House  49 

McOonneil.    Bob  11-118-145 

McCoy,  Will  77 

McDermott,   Bill   24 

McDonnell.  Barney  58 

McGarray.  Hug-h  142 

Mcintosh,  Billy  6 

McKenzie,  John  81-138 

McLean,   Col 2 

McMurphy,   Henry   45 

McNevin,  Dr 15() 

McVey,  A.  H 51-54-62-147 

McNamara,  Big  Bill  26-  28 

Medicine  Lodge   59 

Merrett,   Allen   62 

Merrett,  Jerry  62 

Metlen,  D.  E 59 

Metlen,  Geo 101 

Metlen.  Joe  67 

Metlen  &  Graeter  102 

Meyers.  Andy  39 

Meyers,  Henry  69 

Milk  River  5 

Miller.    M.    A 74 

Mills,   James  H 29 

Milne,   Jimmie   140 

Miner    (newspaper)     62 

Mitchell   and   Mussigbrod 


Montgomery,  William  146-150 

Monumental   City   64 

Monument    on    Big    Hole    Battle-. 

field    59 

Moose  Lake  70 

Morgan.   Davey   86 

Morse,  J.  E.  .1-12-75-76-77-95-103- 

104-111-118-121 

Morse  Taken  to  Ajax  Mine 96 

Mosquitoes    95 

Mulkey,   Cyrus  61 

Mnlloney,  Tom  82 

Murray,   James  71-91-  98 

Murray,  J.  T 73-  74 

Mussigbrod,  Eric  62 

Myers,  Fred  55-72-  87 

My  Footrace  With  a  Professional....  31 

My  Horse  Stolen  32 

My   Last   School   45 

My  Letter  to  Helena  Herald  41 

i>xy  Trade  for  a  Mule  38 

My  Wife  Came  to  Butte  43 

My  Wife's  First  Lady  Callers 54 

Names  of  Relief  Column  to  Gibbon  33 

Neal.   Harry   106 

Nebraska   52 

Neill,  Rev.  B.  D 16 

Neill,   Henry  79-108 

Neill,  James  122 

Nesler.  Cris  35 

Newcomer.    Dug   64-70-73-  91 

Newkirk,   Geo 26 

Nicholson,    Dave   83 


No.  Camp  on  Moose  Horn  

Noiris,  Edwin  L 73-74-76-78-79- 

100- 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad  

Northrup,    Dr 

Noted  Saddle  Horse 

Noyes,  A.  J 53-62 

Noyes.  G.  R 

Noyes,  John  22-27-31 

Noyes,  Mrs.  John  

Noyes,  Kate 

Ncyes,  Mrs.  A. 


J 54-61-71-72-73- 

76-77-81-93-115 

OBrien.  Will  

Old  Black  School  House 

Old  Bozeman  

Old  Dead  Tree  

Oliver,  Wason  M 

Omaha.  Neb 

"Only  One  Drink"  

Orphan   Girl  

Orr,  Charles  

Orr,    John 

Orr.  Mrs.  Wm 

Orton  Bros 

Our  China  Boy  

Owen,  Quit  

Owsley,  Mrs.  Wm.  

Owsley.  Mrs 

Packard,   E.  0 47-57- 

Packard,  Gov 

Packard,    S.   E 

Packard,   W.   F 5 /-60-61-72-74- 

Paddock,  Mrs.  J.  C 48- 

Paddley,    Chas 

Pans  Full  of  Gold 

Parker,   Lou  

Parks.    \\  m 

Parsons,    Mr 

Partridge,  Harry  

Paul.  G.  T 

Pemberton,  Judge  W.  Y 63 

Perkey.  Mr 130 

Pfouts.  Wm 

Phillips.  B.  D 23-123 

Pierce,  Mrs 

Pierce,   Nellie  

Pierce.  Tom   

Pierse,    Allen    

Pioneer,   Mont.,   

Pioneer  Society  

Poindexter  and  Orr  

Poindexter,  E.  L 

Poindexter,  John 

Poindexter,  J.  B 

Poindexter,  Tommy 74-79-93- 

Potts,  Gov.  B.  F 31 

Prebble,    Edwin    16 

Price,  Col.  L.  J 65-79-125-128-134 

136-137-143 

Prowse.  James  43 

Raise  $6,000  139 


66 

104 
64 
68 
9 
o3 
62 
90 
23 
68 

145 

5 

15 

44 

6 

74 

18 

31 

91 

28 

.  78 

78 

27 

15 

62 

23 

26 

59 

78 

58 

99 

62 

101 

12 

133 

92 

17 

57 

152 

152 

137 

146 

124 

44 

44 

59 

23 

58 

1 

VJ 

78 
64 
76 
104 
32 
17 


INDEX 


157 


Raisor.  James  64 

Ralston,   Alex   29-151 

Ramsdell    35 

Randolph.  G.  C 49 

Raymond,   Chas.  I'^^oyes  61 

Redhead,   Geo 78 

Rwlins.  Jake  25 

Reimel.  Mrs.  Ed  44 

Reinhardt.  David  72 

Return  to  Montana  17 

Richardson.  Chas 64 

Rickards.  Gov.  J.  E 76 

Rookefellow.  J.  S 6 

Roe,  Wm 76-79-140 

Roe's,  Wm.  Storj' 85 

Roe,  Mrs.  Wm 27 

Rogan.  Family 13 

Roosevelt.  Theodore  70 

Rose,  A.  0 68 

Rose,  Dick  Ifj 

Ruby  Water  Co 105 

Rufe's  Dream  67 

Russell,  J.  R 27 

Ryan,  Wm 62 

Ryan.  W.  A.  0 4 

Sacajawea   83 

Salmon  River.  North  Fork  of 58 

Sample.   Geo..   Killed   40 

Sanders,  W.  E 142 

Sanders.  Col.  W.  F 142 

Saucy    Boys 21 

Sawmill   Point  9 

Saville,  Joe  25 

Scallon.  William  63 

School  at  Whitehall  37 

School  at  Silver  Bow  20 

Schulz,  Fred  103 

Second  Clean-Up  121 

Self,  Miss  Lizzie  24-  25 

^Se]l   Wisdom  Mercantile  Co 143 

Shannon,   J.   G 73 

Sheridan.   Mont.,   60 

Sherman.  Gen.  W.  T 31-32-59-151 

Sherrills   14 

Shaw.  Mrs.  Kate  55 

Shineherj^er.  Joe  27 

Shoemaker,  Ed  55 

Sijrsby  27 

Silver   Star  11 

Sinclair.   Dave   10 

Si  Oaks  City  18 

Sioux  War  2 

Sleeping  With  Bill  and  Tom 7 

Smith.    Al    62 

Smith.  Big  Foot  W 

Smith.   Fred   135 

Smith.  Geo 54 

Smith.  J.  C 152 

Sriiitli.  R.  P 150 

Smith  and  Graeter  (i 

Smith  and  Maloney's  Cattle  7<i 

Snyder    Brcjthers   17 


Sorenson,  Martin  78 

Sparrell,  Geo 13 

Speck,  Prof 47 

Stanchfield,  Chas.  E 68-71-  75 

Stanchfield.  John  2 

Stanchfield,  Mary  A 13 

Stanchfield.  W.  A 51-137 

Stanchfield,   W.    B 27-43-89-92-  98 

St.  Anthony  7 

Start  Mill  141 

Steamer  Deer  Ijodge  14 

Steamer  War  Eagle  15 

Steele  Creek  62-r>3~64 

Steele  Diggings  61 

Steele.    Mike    58-94-147 

Stevenson.  B.  R 82-105 

Stevensville  - 49 

St.    Paul    15 

Strowbridge,  O.  H 79-81-140-151 

Stuart,  Granville  ,. 111-147 

Sturgis,  Mr 9 

Snllivan,  Eugene  62 

S'wanstrom,  Lou 9  J 

Tait,   Rev 150 

Talbot.  Jas 31-  32 

Taylor,   Charles  127 

The  Hump  21 

The  Kind  Chinaman  20 

The  Miner  from  Wyoming  132 

Thomas,    Jack    95 

Thompson,  Geo 62 

Thompson   Killed   "Dutch"   Gus 79 

Tibbitts.  Geo 3-23-27-58-  90 

Tiedt.  Billy  70 

Tong.  Geo.  46-55-61-68-69-70-72-81-  92 

Toll  Bridge  65 

Tonopah,   Nev 6-3 

Toomey,    Jos 145 

Toole,  J.  K 101 

Towsley.   Roy  56 

Trail    Creek    64 

Treacy,  Dr.  W 63 

Tramway  Mine  26 

Trouble  at   Hamilton  39 

Tunnel   No.  2 113 

Turner.   A.   J 73-  76 

Twin    Bridges   56-  57 

Twin  Crossing 5:^ 

Two  Tons  of  Gold  5 

I'niversity  of  Minnesota 16 

Valiton,  Hank  19 

Valley  of  the  Snake 20 

Vance,   S.   D 57-58-149 

Van  Patten  147 

Vflritieberg.    I/ouis   55 

Vincennes,  lud 64 

Vog.l.  G.   10 (M) 

\'nb;ui     Mine    69 

W.ikefichl,  (Jeo  43 

Wahlheir.  .\|jilt  52-57-  62 

Walker,    1).    I> 123-125-145 

Walker,  Jack   143 


158 


INDEX 


Walker  Filibustering   Expedition....  27 

Wallase,  Miss  Lena 47 

Wampler,  Ethel  94 

Wampler,  D.  F 64-150 

Wampler,   John   23-46-57-62-  63 

Wampler,  Reece  26 

Wampler.  Tom  25-26-43-  63 

Warm  Springs  57 

Warm  Springs  Ci'eek  52 

Warren,  C.  S 22-34-  (« 

Warren,    Earl    22 

Warren,  Mace 22-  34 

Watson,  Major  2-  62 

Weaver,  Oris 85 

Wedding  Party 46 

Weeks,  Senator 135 

We  Get  Married 47 

We  Find  Lead  Ohute  99 

Westfall,  P 13 

White,  Gov.  B.  F 62-75-77-78-79- 

108-119-127-143-144 

White  Lion  Mountain 118 

Whitford,  O.  B 56 

Whitford,  Chas 28 

Wilke,   Oris   55-  88 

Willis,  0 59 

Who  Discovered  Bannack  85 


\Vlio  Mace  Got  to  Go  On  His  Note  22 

Winegart,  B 13 

Why  I  lost  My  Job  39 

Wilson  &  Gillie 117 

Wing,  Dan  129 

Wing.    Robt.   T 129 

Winslow  Hotel  15 

Winters  &  Montague 27 

Winter,  '74-'75  : 20 

With  Indians  39 

Wisdom  55-59-61-63-64-  80 

Wisdom  Mercantile  Co 82 

Woodruff,  Lieut 34 

Woman  Scalped  15 

Woods,  Mrs.  Jas 47 

Woodward,  Billy  28 

Woodworth,    Geo 64-149 

Wraton,   David   58-60-149 

Wright,  Ed  62 

Wright,  Jack 65 

Wyman.  Oapt 69-  71 

Wyoming  52 

Yearian,  Billy  9 

"You  Are  the  Biggest  Liar  I  Ever 
Saw" 46 

Zorn,   Emil  71-80-  81 


'V>/ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


n- 


'  JUN161979 


Form  L-9-15w-2,'36 


UNlVUiKSlTY  of  CALIFORNIA 

AT 

LOS  ANGELES 


AA    000  526  043    5 


V'"r-\'>.-x:: 


